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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bend.

To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/bɛnd//bɪnd/pin-pen-merger
  1. To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.

    transitive
    If you bend the pipe too far, it will break.
    Don’t bend your knees.
  2. To become curved.

    intransitive
    Look at the trees bending in the wind.
  3. To cause to change direction.

    transitive
  4. To change direction.

    intransitive
    The road bends to the right.
  5. To be inclined; to direct itself.

    intransitive
  6. To stoop.

    intransitive · usually
    He bent down to pick up the pieces.
  7. To bow in prayer, or in token of submission.

    intransitive
  8. To force to submit.

    transitive
    They bent me to their will.
  9. To submit.

    intransitive
    I am bending to my desire to eat junk food.
  10. To apply to a task or purpose.

    transitive
    He bent the company's resources to gaining market share.
  11. To apply oneself to a task or purpose.

    intransitive
    He bent to the goal of gaining market share.
  12. To adapt or interpret to for a purpose or beneficiary.

    transitive
  13. To tie, as in securing a line to a cleat; to shackle a chain to an anchor; make fast.

    transitive
    Bend the sail to the yard.
  14. To smoothly change the pitch of a note.

    transitive
    You should bend the G slightly sharp in the next measure.
  15. To swing the body when rowing.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bindaną Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *bandijaną Proto-West Germanic *bandijan Old English bendan Middle English benden English bend From Middle English benden, from Old English bendan (“to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain”), from Proto-West Germanic *bandijan, from Proto-Germanic *bandijaną (“to bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, tie”). Cognate with Middle High German benden (“to fetter”), Danish bænde (“to bend”), Norwegian bende (“to bend”), Faroese benda (“to bend, inflect”), Icelandic benda (“to bend”). Related to bind, band, bond.

noun/bɛnd//bɪnd/pin-pen-merger
  1. A curve.

    There's a sharp bend in the road ahead.
  2. Any of the various knots which join the ends of two lines.

  3. A severe condition caused by excessively quick decompression, causing bubbles of nitrogen to form in the blood; decompression sickness.

    in-plural
    A diver who stays deep for too long must ascend very slowly in order to prevent the bends.
  4. One of the honourable ordinaries formed by two diagonal lines drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base; it generally occupies a fifth part of the shield if uncharged, but if charged one third.

  5. Turn; purpose; inclination; ends.

    obsolete
  6. In the leather trade, the best quality of sole leather; a butt; sometimes, half a butt cut lengthwise.

  7. Hard, indurated clay; bind.

  8. The thickest and strongest planks in a ship's sides, more generally called wales, which have the beams, knees, and futtocks bolted to them.

    in-plural
  9. The frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides.

    in-plural
    the midship bends
  10. A glissando, or glide between one pitch and another, especially one accomplished by bending a string (such as on guitar).

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bindaną Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Germanic *-janą Proto-Germanic *bandijaną Proto-West Germanic *bandijan Old English bendan Middle English benden English bend From Middle English benden, from Old English bendan (“to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain”), from Proto-West Germanic *bandijan, from Proto-Germanic *bandijaną (“to bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, tie”). Cognate with Middle High German benden (“to fetter”), Danish bænde (“to bend”), Norwegian bende (“to bend”), Faroese benda (“to bend, inflect”), Icelandic benda (“to bend”). Related to bind, band, bond.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.