fence.
A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc.
Meaning & usage
A thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc.
Someone who hides or buys and sells stolen goods, a criminal middleman for transactions of stolen goods.
The place whence such a middleman operates.
Skill in oral debate.
The art or practice of fencing.
A guard or guide on machinery.
A barrier, for example an emotional barrier.
A prohibition enacted to prevent violation of another more primary rule.
A memory barrier.
The boundary.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English fence, fens, short for defence, defens (“the act of defending”), from Old French defens, defense (see defence). The sense "enclosure" arises in the mid 15th century. Also from the 15th century is use as a verb in the sense "to enclose with a fence". The generalized sense "to defend, screen, protect" arises ca. 1500. The sense "to fight with swords (rapiers)" is from the 1590s (Shakespeare). Displaced native Old English heġe (compare Modern English hedge).
To enclose, contain or separate by building fence.
To defend or guard.
To engage in the selling or buying of stolen goods.
To engage in the sport of fencing (against).
To jump over a fence.
To conceal the truth by giving equivocal answers; to hedge; to be evasive.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English fence, fens, short for defence, defens (“the act of defending”), from Old French defens, defense (see defence). The sense "enclosure" arises in the mid 15th century. Also from the 15th century is use as a verb in the sense "to enclose with a fence". The generalized sense "to defend, screen, protect" arises ca. 1500. The sense "to fight with swords (rapiers)" is from the 1590s (Shakespeare). Displaced native Old English heġe (compare Modern English hedge).
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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.