befriend
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
befriendsimple
-
befriendssimple
-
have befriendedperfect
-
has befriendedperfect
-
am befriendingprogressive
-
are befriendingprogressive
-
is befriendingprogressive
-
have been befriendingperfect progressive
-
has been befriendingperfect progressive
Past
-
befriendedsimple
-
had befriendedperfect
-
was befriendingprogressive
-
were befriendingprogressive
-
had been befriendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of befriend
Explanation
There are many ways to make someone your friend. You can offer assistance with a project, or provide comfort at a time of loss. Perhaps the easiest way to befriend someone, however, is just to smile and say "hi." The prefix "be-" is from Old English, and has several meanings. In befriend, the meaning is "cause to be," so to befriend someone is to cause him or her to be your friend. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.”
Vocabulary lists containing befriend
Harry Belafonte (1927–2023) Tribute List
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Sordid" and "Blatant" Attacks: Ten Words in the News You Need to Know
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Hundreds of people treat the request like religion, posting screenshots of their recent ratings to find new people in the community to befriend and follow.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
You’re not out to fleece anyone with egregiously high commissions or merely befriend another member because you want to flog the latest financial product.
From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026
After Alani regains her composure, they reenter and quickly befriend Wood, who plays an exaggerated, borderline agoraphobic version of himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
Ninety-five percent said they would help peers who were feeling down, and nearly 90% wanted to befriend students they didn’t know.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
If we had one, I could befriend an actor or two, and get them to keep training me on the sly.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Once she settles in, the girl befriends other spirits and wins them over with her acceptance and understanding — including a few shunned by everyone else, like the famous No-Face.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Cathy befriends young Heathcliff after her rich, alcoholic father brings him to live and work as a servant on their estate perched atop the windy English moors.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2026
Lise has run-ins with other passengers aboard her flight and, once at her destination, befriends a bumbling, dotty widow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Even so, its use here is brazen and strange, from this case of death by chocolate to an “E.T.” embezzlement in which Isabella befriends a baby Aquilops with red rope licorice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2025
As he has no children to play with, he befriends the wild rabbits, offering them food and stroking their fur until he can touch their twitching noses.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Another memorable role came two years later when Fricker was cast as the homeless bird lady befriended by Macaulay Culkin's Kevin in Home Alone 2.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
A friend of mine befriended a homeless man and took him in.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Over the years, he has befriended sports figures like Mike Tyson, Don King and Herschel Walker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
After our visit to Adat Reyim, an inclusive, independent synagogue in Springfield, Virginia, I befriended its spiritual leader, Rabbi Bruce Aft.
From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026
When the Joneses reached Chicago, they befriended a group of abolitionists, black and white, working together as “conductors,” assisting slaves to freedom on the hidden tracks of the Underground Railroad.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Khalil has spoken at length about befriending Jewish students at Columbia, attending Shabbat dinners and seeing Jewish students as “integral” during the protest movement on campus.
From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2026
“She was someone who was very interested in befriending others for status, more so than being a friend,” one classmate recalled.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2025
Henry bides his time, watching other subjects closely before befriending Eleven.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
Elizabeth is also the conscience of the piece, befriending the Creature and being alternately attracted to Victor and repulsed by what she sees as his moral degeneracy—never mind his abdication of parental responsibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
At the moment, arguing with a crazy wind god seemed safer than befriending an angry son of Hades.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
