mend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing.
to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
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to remove or correct defects or errors in.
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to set right; make better; improve.
to mend matters.
- Synonyms:
- ameliorate
verb (used without object)
idioms
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mend sail, to refurl sails that have been badly furled. Also mend the furl
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on the mend,
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recovering from an illness.
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improving in general, as a state of affairs.
The breach between father and son is on the mend.
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verb
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(tr) to repair (something broken or unserviceable)
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to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways )
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(intr) to heal or recover
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(intr) (of conditions) to improve; become better
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(tr) to feed or stir (a fire)
noun
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the act of repairing
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a mended area, esp on a garment
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becoming better, esp in health
Synonym Usage
Mend, darn, patch mean to repair something and thus renew its usefulness. Mend is a general expression that emphasizes the idea of making whole something damaged: to mend a broken dish, a tear in an apron. Darn and patch are more specific, referring particularly to repairing holes or tears. To darn is to repair by means of stitches interwoven with one another: to darn stockings. To patch is to cover a hole or tear, usually with a piece or pieces of similar material and to secure the edges of these; it implies a more temporary or makeshift repair than the others: to patch the knees of trousers, a rubber tire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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mendernoun
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remendverb
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mendableadjective
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unmendableadjective
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unmendedadjective
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well-mendedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mendsimple
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mendssimple
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have mendedperfect
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has mendedperfect
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am mendingprogressive
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are mendingprogressive
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is mendingprogressive
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have been mendingperfect progressive
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has been mendingperfect progressive
Past
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mendedsimple
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had mendedperfect
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was mendingprogressive
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were mendingprogressive
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had been mendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mend
1150–1200; Middle English menden, aphetic variant of amend
Explanation
When you mend something, you fix it or make it better. If you can mend your broken lamp, then it will shine again. If not you'll have to sit in the dark. The word mend was originally used as a religious term, meaning to free a person from sin, usually through repentance and good deeds. Mend has come to refer to fixing something that is broken. A mechanic might mend a broken car, or a seamstress might mend a torn dress. The word also frequently relates health and healing. Someone recovering from a long bout of the flu is said to be "on the mend." But as the song goes, "How can you mend a broken heart?"
Vocabulary lists containing mend
"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
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Mr. Popper’s Penguins
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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.
See Examples For:
According the legend, boy and girl twins born in Higashi Village on a day with equal parts day and night herald a cataclysm that only they can mend.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
The Defense Department has plenty of reasons to mend fences with Anthropic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Big picture: The labor market is on the mend, but it’s still a tough time to find a job for anyone who recently lost one.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Attempts to mend US-South Africa relations have floundered.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Then he said, “Your leg won’t ever mend properly, Nathaniel. There’s been too much damage. Best we can hope for is that the bones grow back together strong enough to hold your weight.”
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
I found a local tailor who mends with precision and fell in love with pieces that I forgot I even had.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025
Those positions will not return, even as the business mends, executives said.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2024
A destitute woman draped in a torn and tattered apron mends socks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2023
Later in the day, chefs from nearby restaurants would come by the shaded spot where Tibau mends his nets and buy the morning’s catch for about $175.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2022
In the story he mends his broken heart by turning it to stone.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
When he entered the race for attorney general, Roy said he and Trump had mended fences, pointing to the president’s remark last summer that Roy is “not easy, but he’s good.”
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Saudi Arabia, a rival heavyweight, mended ties with Tehran after a seven-year rupture in 2023.
From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026
The speed at which India and Canada have mended their relationship show that both prime ministers are well aware of today's global realities.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
The two mended their bond in public last year during an event in Mexico City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
The fishermen folded freshly knotted nets they had mended in winter while their wives, beside them at the fire, made the sweaters they would wear on their boats.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
He promised to give priority to growth by holding the line on taxes, trimming spending, lifting barriers to infrastructure and housing, and mending relations with the European Union.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
"You don't get many people mending raw cashmere," said Wade, whose role is to meticulously inspect and darn any defects in the fabric by hand, before it is washed, cut and shipped around the world.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
After Hasina's fall, Dhaka wasted little time in mending fences with Islamabad.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
Then there was Mend Piece: “While you mend | think of mending the world.”
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2025
She had taught him all her lore in herbals and healing, and all she knew of the crafts of finding, binding, mending, unsealing and revealing.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
