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• bend
  bend

  verb (used with object)

  to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form.
• Bend
  Bend

  noun

  a city in central Oregon.

bend

¹ American  

[bend] / bɛnd /

verb (used with object)

• bends,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bent,
  past participle,  past
• bended,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• bending
  present participle

1. to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form.

   to bend an iron rod into a hoop.

   Synonyms:

   bow, flex, crook, curve

2. to direct or turn in a particular direction.

   to bend one's energies to the task.

3. to cause to submit or yield.

   to bend someone to one's will.

   Synonyms:

   sway, persuade, compel, shape, mold, influence

4. to modify or relax (restrictions, regulations, etc.) temporarily or in certain circumstances.

   to bend the rules.

5. to incline mentally (usually followed by to ortoward ).

   bending his thoughts back toward his childhood.

6. to pull back the string of (a bow or the like) in preparation for shooting.

7. Nautical. to fasten.

8. Archaic. to strain or brace tensely (often followed byup ).

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verb (used without object)

• bends,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bent,
  past participle,  past
• bended,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• bending
  present participle

1. to become curved, crooked, or bent.

   a bow that bends easily.

2. to assume a bent posture; stoop (often followed byover ).

   to bend as one walks;

   to bend over and pick up something.

3. to turn or incline in a particular direction; be directed.

   The road bent toward the south.

4. to yield or submit; give in.

5. to bow in submission or reverence.

   bending to one's monarch.

6. to direct one's energies.

   We bent to our work as the bell sounded.

noun

1. the act of bending.

2. something that bends; curve; crook.

   a bend in the road;

   a bend in the curtain rod.

3. Nautical. any of various loops or knots for joining the ends of two ropes or the like, or for joining the end of a rope or the like to some other object.

4. Nautical. bends,

   1. thick planking immediately below the waterways of a wooden vessel.

   2. the wales of a vessel.

5. the bends, aeroembolism.

idioms

1. around / round the bend, insane; crazy.

   These interruptions will send me round the bend!

2. bend / lean / fall over backward, to exert oneself to the utmost; make a serious effort.

   They bent over backward to make sure their guests were comfortable.

bend ² American  

[bend] / bɛnd /

noun

1. Heraldry.

   1. a diagonal band extending from the dexter chief of an escutcheon to the sinister base.

   2. in bend, (of a charge) set diagonally or in a diagonal row.

2. Tanning. half of a trimmed butt or hide.

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Bend ³ American  

[bend] / bɛnd /

noun

1. a city in central Oregon.

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bend ¹ British  

/ bɛnd /

verb

1. to form or cause to form a curve, as by pushing or pulling

2. to turn or cause to turn from a particular direction

   the road bends left past the church

3. (intr; often foll by down, etc) to incline the body; stoop; bow

4. to submit or cause to submit

   to bend before superior force

5. (tr) to turn or direct (one's eyes, steps, attention, etc)

6. (tr) to concentrate (the mind); apply oneself closely

7. (tr) nautical to attach or fasten, as a sail to a boom or a line to a cleat

8. informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please

   he bends over backwards to accommodate his customers

9. informal to speak at length to an unwilling listener, esp to voice one's troubles

10. informal to ignore rules or change them to suit one's own convenience

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noun

1. a curved part, as in a road or river

2. nautical a knot or eye in a line for joining it to another or to an object

3. the act or state of bending

4. slang mad; crazy; eccentric

bend ² British  

/ bɛnd /

noun

1. heraldry an ordinary consisting of a diagonal line traversing a shield

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bend More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bend

• around the bend
• crook (bend) one's elbow
• on bended knee

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Usage

What is a basic definition of bend? Bend means to make something change its shape from straight to curved or to make someone submit. A bend is a curve or a turn. The word bend has several other senses as a verb and a noun. If you bend something that is straight, you are forcing it into a curve or an angle. If you bend a drinking straw, for example, you are using your hands to force it to curve or to slant. If you bend something too far, it may snap or break. Something or someone that bends is a bender.

• Real-life examples: A baker needs to bend dough to make a pretzel. Yoga includes a lot of bending forward and backward.
• Used in a sentence: Jonah’s arms were so sore after lifting weights that he could barely bend his arms.

Bend can also be used to mean to become curved or angled. This sense is often followed by the word over or down when referring to a person bending to stoop down. The adjective bendy describes something as bending easily or having a tendency to bend.

• Used in a sentence: I bent over and picked up all of the trash on the ground.

A bend is a curve or change in direction.

• Used in a sentence: When driving, you need to be careful of sudden bends in the road.

Bend can also mean to make someone submit or yield or to submit to someone else.

• Used in a sentence: Charlemagne forced the conquered people to bend to his will.

Armando bent to her demands because he had no other choice.

Synonym Usage

Bend, bow, stoop imply taking a bent posture. Bend and bow are used of the head and upper body; stoop is used of the body only.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bendable
  adjective
• nonbending
  adjective
• rebendable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• bending
  present
• bended
  past
• bent
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bend
  simple
• bends
  simple
• have bended
  perfect
• have bent
  perfect
• has bended
  perfect
• has bent
  perfect
• am bending
  progressive
• are bending
  progressive
• is bending
  progressive
• have been bending
  perfect progressive
• has been bending
  perfect progressive

Past

• bended
  simple
• bent
  simple
• had bended
  perfect
• had bent
  perfect
• was bending
  progressive
• were bending
  progressive
• had been bending
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bend
  simple
• will have bended
  perfect
• will have bent
  perfect
• will be bending
  progressive
• will have been bending
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bend¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb benden, binde, Old English bendan “to bind, bend (a bow)”; cognate with Middle High German benden, Old Norse benda; akin to Old Norse band “band, cord, confederacy”; see band ³

Origin of bend²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English adjective bende; blend of Old English bend “band, fetter” and Middle French bende ( Medieval Latin benda, binda ); band ², band ³

Explanation

To bend is to curve. You can bend physically, as when you practice yoga, and also figuratively, the way you do when you "bend over backwards," working hard to make something happen, especially on behalf of another person. Tree trunks and branches are able to bend when they're whipped by strong wind — this way, they're usually able to avoid breaking. A bend in the road is a curve, and to bend the rules is to change them slightly in a specific instance. If you try to do a backbend, you have to arch or bend your spine and lean back until her head hangs down and your hands touch the floor. It's a move for the young and flexible. The Old English root, bendan, specifically referred to bending or stretching a bow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bend Bend bends bended bent bending

Wilson was careful not to imply quantum is right around the bend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Sometimes the best solution isn’t persuading someone to change their mind — it’s realizing you don’t need them to bend to your will.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

In other insects, it helps form durable structures such as wing hinges and tendons that must bend repeatedly without wearing out.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026

But this year the 29-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider abandoned after breaking his collarbone on a easy right-hand bend on stage 15.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

“That’s an order,” she said, and strode around the bend.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Daniel Ingham died in the crash at Doran's Bend on the western section of the course on the first lap of the third qualifying session on Wednesday evening, race organisers said.

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

He had initially opened Pegasus Books in Bend, Ore., in 1980, with plans to become an author.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026

In CPB’s Big Bend Sector project, for example, contractors were ultimately required to install cattle fencing and cattle guards — something Posillico’s lawsuit contends was not what the government originally asked of potential contractors.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

Amanda Jones said her son and his friends, high-schoolers in South Bend, Ind., use any combination of feet, head, shoulders, neck and back to keep the sack moving—and go viral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026

Bend all the way to one side, then back to the other.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

It was a total eclipse that let Arthur Eddington test Albert Einstein’s claim that gravity bends light.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Part of that attention is aimed at Burwell’s score, a masterpiece of electronic minimalism in which pitch bends and hard clashes create the dread and whiplash that make the film so tense.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Steep ascents, hairpin bends and stretches of unpaved road have added to the difficulties facing this tourist town, whose visitors have unsurprisingly stopped visiting while fish sales have stalled.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

As the tectonic plate bends near the subduction zone, fractures develop, allowing the magma to rise through the crust, much like liquid being squeezed from a sponge.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

She bends down and gives Bo a quick cuddle.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

"If I was Prime Minister, I would be coming along on my bended knees and asking to be allowed back in," he says.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025

Her role was captured during a now-famous moment in the West Wing of the White House, when the Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, got down on bended knee pleading for Ms. Pelosi’s help.

From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2023

She says in the show: “Here I am, coming to you, prime minister, on bended knee, for the sign-off, but I’m hoping that will be a formality.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022

Me on bended knee, with a ring I'd emptied my bank account to buy.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2022

“Lord Davos, if you are a lord, I know what your so-called king would have of me. Steel and silver and a bended knee.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Fittingly, for a man so bent on proving himself the greatest of all time, Djokovic paired up with director Jason Hehir, best known for “The Last Dance,” the documentary about Michael Jordan and the Bulls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Jewish holiday Purim celebrates their triumph roughly 2,500 years ago over a minister to the king bent on annihilating the empire’s Jews.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

After tugging his short shot at history left of the hole, Herbert bent over in disappointment before composing himself to tap in.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

The hood is bent, the radiator is cracked, and the front bumper is destroyed.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Right now his head was bent to the side, and he was turning his fingertips in his teeth.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

The first was a quadratic trend analysis, which tests whether the temperature curve is bending upward over time rather than rising at a constant rate.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

In lieu of engaging in objective analysis, the discipline is shaping, even bending, the truth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

The producers delighted in bending and breaking rules of the sci-fi genre throughout the series, but they also shook up one of the most conventional elements of any TV show: the opening title sequence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Folarin Balogun showed pace, power and then composure to take a touch inside the covering defender before bending the ball into the top corner with his left foot.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

“It would be bending the rules, but not exactly breaking them.”

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Related Words

• bow
• buckle
• crouch
• curl
• flex
• incline
• lean
• stoop
• tilt
• twist
• veer