Adjacent Words

Mend definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MEND, v.t. [L. emendo, menda, a fault, spot or blemish.]
1. To repair, as a breach; to supply a part broken or defective; as, to mend a garment, a road, a mill-dam, a fence, etc.
2. To correct; to set right; to alter for the better; as, to mend the life or manners.
3. To repair; to restore to a sound state; as, to mend a feeble or broken constitution.
4. To help; to advance; to make better.
This plausible apology does not mend the matter.
Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit.
5. To improve; to hasten.
He saw the monster mend his pace.
MEND, v.i. To grow better; to advance to a better state; to improve. We say, a feeble constitution mends daily; a sick man mends, or is convalescent.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: sewing that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment); "her stockings had several mends" [syn: mend, patch, darn]
2: the act of putting something in working order again [syn: repair, fix, fixing, fixture, mend, mending, reparation] v
1: restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken; "She repaired her TV set"; "Repair my shoes please" [syn: repair, mend, fix, bushel, doctor, furbish up, restore, touch on] [ant: break, bust]
2: heal or recover; "My broken leg is mending" [syn: mend, heal]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, short for amenden — more at amend Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to free from faults or defects: as a. to improve in manners or morals ; reform b. to set right ; correct c. to put into good shape or working order again ; patch up ; repair d. to improve or strengthen (as a relationship) by negotiation or conciliation — used chiefly in the phrase mend fences <spends the weekend mending political fences — E. O. Hauser> e. to restore to health ; cure 2. to make amends or atonement for <least said, soonest mended> intransitive verb 1. to improve morally ; reform 2. to become corrected or improved 3. to improve in health; also heal • mendable adjective • mender noun Synonyms: mend, repair, patch, rebuild mean to put into good order something that has been injured, damaged, or defective. mend implies making whole or sound something broken, torn, or injured <mended the torn dress>. repair applies to the fixing of more extensive damage or dilapidation <repaired the back steps>. patch implies an often temporary fixing of a hole or break with new material <patch worn jeans>. rebuild suggests making like new without completely replacing <a rebuilt automobile engine>. II. noun Date: 14th century 1. an act of mending ; repair 2. a mended place

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. restore to a sound condition; repair (a broken article, a damaged road, torn clothes, etc.). 2 intr. regain health. 3 tr. improve (mend matters). 4 tr. add fuel to (a fire). --n. a darn or repair in material etc. (a mend in my shirt). Phrases and idioms: mend one's fences make peace with a person. mend one's manners improve one's behaviour. mend or end improve or abolish. mend one's pace go faster; alter one's pace to another's. mend one's ways reform, improve one's habits. on the mend improving in health or condition. Derivatives: mendable adj. mender n. Etymology: ME f. AF mender f. amender AMEND

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mend Mend, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mended; p. pr. & vb. n. Mending.] [Abbrev. fr. amend. See Amend.] 1. To repair, as anything that is torn, broken, defaced, decayed, or the like; to restore from partial decay, injury, or defacement; to patch up; to put in shape or order again; to re-create; as, to mend a garment or a machine. 2. To alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken; as, to mend one's manners or pace. The best service they could do the state was to mend the lives of the persons who composed it. --Sir W. Temple. 3. To help, to advance, to further; to add to. Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit. --Mortimer. You mend the jewel by the wearing it. --Shak. Syn: To improve; help; better; emend; amend; correct; rectify; reform.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mend Mend, v. i. To grow better; to advance to a better state; to become improved. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(mends, mending, mended) 1. If you mend something that is broken or not working, you repair it, so that it works properly or can be used. They took a long time to mend the roof... I should have had the catch mended, but never got round to it. = repair, fix VERB: V n, have n V-ed 2. If a person or a part of their body mends or is mended, they get better after they have been ill or have had an injury. I'm feeling a good bit better. The cut aches, but it's mending... He must have a major operation on his knee to mend severed ligaments. VERB: V, V n 3. If you try to mend divisions between people, you try to end the disagreements or quarrels between them. He sent Evans as his personal envoy to discuss ways to mend relations between the two countries... = heal VERB: V n 4. If a relationship or situation is on the mend after a difficult or unsuccessful period, it is improving. (INFORMAL) More evidence that the economy was on the mend was needed. PHRASE: v-link PHR 5. If you are on the mend after an illness or injury, you are recovering from it. (INFORMAL) The baby had been poorly but seemed on the mend. PHRASE: v-link PHR 6. If someone who has been behaving badly mends their ways, they begin to behave well. He has promised drastic disciplinary action if they do not mend their ways. PHRASE: V inflects 7. to mend fences: see fence

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Repair, refit, retouch, patch up, touch up, restore. 2. Improve, ameliorate, meliorate, correct, rectify, reform, amend, emend, make better. 3. Help, advance, further, improve. 4. Increase, add to, augment, make greater. II. v. n. Improve, amend, become better.

Moby Thesaurus

Great Leap Forward, acculturate, advance, advancement, ameliorate, amelioration, amend, amendment, ascent, better, bettering, betterment, boost, bring forward, civilize, cobble, come along, come on, commission, condition, convalesce, convalescent, convalescing, correct, darn, develop, do up, doctor, edify, educate, elevate, emend, enhance, enhancement, enlighten, enrich, enrichment, eugenics, euthenics, fatten, favor, fix, fix up, forward, foster, furtherance, gain, gain ground, get ahead, get along, get better, get well, go ahead, go forward, go straight, graduate, grow better, headway, heal, improve, improve upon, improvement, improving, lard, lift, look up, make an improvement, make headway, make progress, make strides, meliorate, melioration, mending, nurture, on the mend, overhaul, patch, patch up, perk up, pick up, pickup, preferment, progress, progression, promote, promotion, put in commission, put in order, put in repair, put in shape, put right, raise, ready, rebuild, recap, recondition, reconstruct, recover, recovering, recovery, rectify, recuperate, redress, refine upon, reform, refurbish, rehabilitate, rejuvenate, remedy, renew, renovate, repair, restoration, restore, retread, revamp, revise, revival, right, rise, service, set right, set to rights, sew up, shape up, show improvement, skyrocket, socialize, straighten out, take off, tinker, tinker up, transfigure, transform, upbeat, upgrade, uplift, upping, upswing, uptrend, upward mobility, vamp