befriend

[ bih-frend ]

/ bɪˈfrɛnd /

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See synonyms for: befriend / befriended on Thesaurus.com

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR befriend

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

See synonyms for befriend on Thesaurus.com

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ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ

There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!

Question 1 of 7

True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

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Origin of befriend

First recorded in 1550–60; be- + friend

OTHER WORDS FROM befriend

un·be·friend·ed, adjective

Words nearby befriend

before the wind, beforetime, before you can say Jack Robinson, before you know it, befoul, befriend, befuddle, befuddled, beg, begad, began

How to use befriend in a sentence

They befriended local business owners and gained the trust of row-home renovators and longtime residents alike — many of whom opened their houses to be photographed.
At the Smithsonian, a photographic portrait of East Baltimore, decades before the dawn of the selfie era|Kelsey Ables|August 26, 2021|Washington Post
I’ve lived in three different neighborhoods in Albuquerque and each time we’ve moved I’ve befriended the neighbors, both because it’s the right thing to do and also because I want them to watch my house when I’m gone.
How to Not Get Your Gear Stolen|agintzler|July 15, 2021|Outside Online
She had befriended future first lady Hillary Clinton when both were among the few young female lawyers working on American Bar Association initiatives.
Margaret Richardson, IRS commissioner during Clinton’s first term, dies at 78|Adam Bernstein|July 13, 2021|Washington Post
In one instance, a Thacher student in the 1980s told investigators that a professor “befriended” her while she was a freshman, then forcibly kissed her and groped her at his home, according to the report.
Elite California Private School Comes Clean on Decades of Sexual Abuse|Emily Shugerman|June 17, 2021|The Daily Beast

There also was a lonely camper, warmly befriended by Charlie Brown, named Roy.
Three ‘lost’ Charles Schulz strips have been rediscovered. Do they show the adult Lucy Van Pelt?|Michael Cavna|May 31, 2021|Washington Post
Which itself, in turn, makes it harder to befriend people from the other side.
Red Date, Blue Date|Megan McArdle|October 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Strangers in a Strange Land|Emily L. Hauser|September 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But whatever their private feeling, politicians have been keen to befriend a critical power-broker.
Knives Out Against Murdoch|William Underhill|July 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Rose MacMurray has a precocious teenaged girl befriend the poet in her novel, Afternoons with Emily.
Emily Dickinson's Racy Side|Donna Seaman|March 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
For her sake alone I should think he would be pleased to find others ready to befriend her.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
On the following day he parted forever from the family that he would have given his life to befriend.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, July, 1893|Various
Sisters, let us try by all possible means to befriend our own sex and help all who are thrown in our way, heavenward.
Prisons and Prayer: Or a Labor of Love|Elizabeth Ryder Wheaton
His principal witness has run away, his old friends all turn against him, and circumstantial evidence doesn't befriend him.
Sevenoaks|J. G. Holland
And with that sigh there was a smile that lasted when the sigh was gone: for I promised to befriend her children.
Night and Morning, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for befriend

befriend

/ (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

befriend

OTHER WORDS FOR befriend

Origin of befriend

OTHER WORDS FROM befriend

Words nearby befriend

Words related to befriend

How to use befriend in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for befriend