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bend

Pronunciation: /bɛnd/

The English word “bend” has 20 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means.
  2. To become curved.
  3. To cause to change direction.
  4. To change direction.
  5. To be inclined; to direct itself.
  6. To stoop.
  7. To bow in prayer, or in token of submission.
  8. To force to submit.
  9. To submit.
  10. To apply to a task or purpose.
  11. To apply oneself to a task or purpose.
  12. To adapt or interpret to for a purpose or beneficiary.
  13. To tie, as in securing a line to a cleat; to shackle a chain to an anchor; make fast.
  14. To smoothly change the pitch of a note.
  15. To swing the body when rowing.

noun

  1. A curve.
  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.
  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.

Etymology

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…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.