Synonyms

befriend

American

[bih-frend] / bɪˈfrɛnd /

verb (used with object)

to make friends or become friendly with; act as a friend to; help; aid.

to befriend the lonely and the disregarded.

Synonyms:

welcome, succor, sustain, encourage, assist, associate, ally

befriend British

/ bɪˈfrɛnd /

verb

(tr) to be a friend to; assist; favour

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

unbefriended adjective

Etymology

Origin of befriend

First recorded in 1550–60; be- + friend

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When my colleague Malia Mendez went to an event recently, people told her that attending Junk Journal Club “has made befriending strangers easy,” and many of them stay in touch.

From Los Angeles Times

Despite the risks, Lucas begins carrying coded notes for Madame Garnier and befriends one of the young mothers, Claire, and her baby boy, at the maternity home.

From The Wall Street Journal

She had heard that we had befriended a man on this street.

From Literature

“They befriend you and say all the right things to get to you,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

‘Why did you leave them?’ asked Renn, who seemed to be making a supreme effort to forget about her quiver and befriend him, in order to keep them alive.

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023