befriend

[ bih-frend ]

/ bɪˈfrɛnd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR befriend ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to make friends or become friendly with; act as a friend to; help; aid: to befriend the poor and the weak.

Words nearby befriend

before you can say jack robinson, before you know it, beforehand, beforetime, befoul, befriend, befuddle, beg, beg off, beg the question, beg to differ

Origin of befriend

First recorded in 1550–60; be- + friend

SYNONYMS FOR befriend

assist, comfort, succor; welcome.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR befriend ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM befriend

un·be·friend·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for befriend

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
Meanwhile, Mr. Flaxman was always there to befriend or amuse his sister's protégés—always there, but never in the way.
Robert Elsmere|Mrs. Humphry Ward

Even after this date Southampton continued to befriend Florio for many years.
Shakespeare's Lost Years in London, 1586-1592|Arthur Acheson
Afghans Afraid to Befriend us I now set to work to collect supplies for the winter.
Forty-one years in India|Frederick Sleigh Roberts
When he was gone, Lakshmi said: "My child, do not fear; I'll befriend you."
Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886)|Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco
I hope that your Ladyship will befriend him with your counsel and countenance in that country, where he is a stranger.
Letters of Samuel Rutherford|Samuel Rutherford

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

verb (used with object)

Content related to befriend

Words related to befriend

Words nearby befriend

Origin of befriend

SYNONYMS FOR befriend

OTHER WORDS FROM befriend

Examples from the Web for befriend

British Dictionary definitions for befriend

verb