fence

American  

[fens] / fɛns /

noun

• fences
  plural

1. a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of vertical posts connected with horizontal sections of sturdy material or materials, as wood, metal, vinyl, or wire, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary.

   Our garden fence is not high enough to keep the deer out.

2. Informal. a person who receives and disposes of stolen goods.

3. the place of business of such a person.

4. the act, practice, art, or sport of fencing.

5. skill in argument, repartee, etc.

6. Machinery. a guard or guide, as for regulating the movements of a tool or work.

7. Carpentry. a slotted guide used especially with a framing square to lay out cuts on rafters and staircase strings.

8. Archaic. a means of defense; a bulwark.

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verb (used with object)

• fences,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fenced,
  past participle,  past
• fencing
  present participle

1. to enclose by some barrier, establishing exclusive right to possession.

   to fence a farm.

2. to separate by or as by a fence or fences (often followed by in, off, out, etc.).

   to fence off a corner of one's yard; to fence out unwholesome influences.

3. to defend; protect; guard.

   The president was fenced by bodyguards wherever he went.

4. to ward off; keep out.

5. Informal. to sell (stolen goods) to a fence.

6. Nautical. to reinforce (an opening in a sail or the like) by sewing on a grommet or other device.

verb (used without object)

• fences,
  present (3rd person singular)
• fenced,
  past participle,  past
• fencing
  present participle

1. to practice the art or sport of fencing.

2. to parry arguments; strive to avoid giving direct answers; hedge.

   The mayor fenced when asked if he would run again.

3. (of a horse) to leap over a fence.

4. Obsolete. to raise a defense.

idioms

1. mend one's fences, to strengthen or reestablish one's position by conciliation or negotiation.

   One could tell by his superficially deferential manner that he was trying to mend his fences.

2. on the fence, uncommitted; neutral; undecided.

   The party leaders are still on the fence.

fence British  

/ fɛns /

noun

1. a structure that serves to enclose an area such as a garden or field, usually made of posts of timber, concrete, or metal connected by wire, netting, rails, or boards

2. slang a dealer in stolen property

3. an obstacle for a horse to jump in steeplechasing or showjumping

4. machinery a guard or guide, esp in a circular saw or plane

5. a projection usually fitted to the top surface of a sweptback aircraft wing to prevent movement of the airflow towards the wing tips

6. 1. to restore a position or reputation that has been damaged, esp in politics

   2. to re-establish friendly relations (with someone)

7. unable or unwilling to commit oneself

8. informal unreasonable, unfair, or unjust

9. to be unable or unwilling to commit oneself

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verb

1. (tr) to construct a fence on or around (a piece of land, etc)

2. (tr; foll by in or off) to close (in) or separate (off) with or as if with a fence

   he fenced in the livestock

3. (intr) to fight using swords or foils

4. (intr) to evade a question or argument, esp by quibbling over minor points

5. (intr) to engage in skilful or witty debate, repartee, etc

6. slang (intr) to receive stolen property

7. archaic (tr) to ward off or keep out

fence More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fence

• mend one's fences
• on the fence
• straddle the fence

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outfence
  verb (used with object)
• refence
  verb (used with object)
• unfence
  verb (used with object)
• fenceless
  adjective
• fencelike
  adjective
• well-fenced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fences
  plural

Participles

• fencing
  present
• fenced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• fence
  simple
• fences
  simple
• have fenced
  perfect
• has fenced
  perfect
• am fencing
  progressive
• are fencing
  progressive
• is fencing
  progressive
• have been fencing
  perfect progressive
• has been fencing
  perfect progressive

Past

• fenced
  simple
• had fenced
  perfect
• was fencing
  progressive
• were fencing
  progressive
• had been fencing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will fence
  simple
• will have fenced
  perfect
• will be fencing
  progressive
• will have been fencing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of fence

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English fens, shortening of defens “(means of) fortification, resistance, defense”; see origin at defense

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Explanation

A fence is a usually wooden or metal structure that encloses a yard, pasture, or other area. Many people with back yard swimming pools put fences around them to make sure small children don't fall in. The difference between a fence and a wall is that you can almost always see through a fence, at least to some degree, while a wall is solid. You can use fence as a verb too: "I think I'll fence my yard in, because my chickens keep wandering off." If someone calls you a fence, though, they mean you're selling stolen goods, and if you fence professionally, you participate in the sword fighting sport of fencing.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fence fences fenced fencing

"The Brecon Beacons National Park is the other side of my right-hand fence," he told the Telegraph.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

When we bought the place, I envisioned our children running wild in the backyard under the climbing wisteria, but the wisteria is invasive, and it ate away at our fence and choked the rhododendrons.

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Outside the perimeter fence, daily life bears little resemblance to the military activity unfolding inside.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

The ninth pitch was over the plate—and Frelick sent it soaring over the center-field fence, erasing a Tampa Bay lead that might have been insurmountable for anyone else.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Of course, I was barefooted and didn’t make any more noise than a lizard walking on a rail fence.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

“I felt like I had gone back in time. It was like those American suburban neighborhoods you see in movies — white picket fences, people walking their dogs. I knew we had to live there.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026

Saturday's blaze "spread rapidly due to high winds" and had torn through the fences of the base, the Municipal District of Wainwright said.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Then there was a rupture in the relationship and Musk departed, although they seem to have mended fences.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

Rende's company in North Jackson, Ohio, makes and distributes aluminum building products used in fixtures like fences.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Some of the fences were missing, and the Herding Machine was broken, but the cows promised not to wander off, and they began grazing on the windblown grass.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Their sites are bare ground, fenced off from the outside.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

An 81-year-old has won a three-year battle against a council that fenced across a gap in her garden wall her family had used as access for decades.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

A video from the scene released by prosecutors shows animals doubled up in cages, barking and frightened, and over a dozen cats held in a fenced area.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

It is fenced in and gilded, with literal gold.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

To the right, there’s a barn and a fenced pasture with horses.

From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Picard is a man given to philosophical debates and genteel pursuits like horseback riding and fencing.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

Workers have started a $2.6-billion expansion and remodeling of the aging facility, which will host fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo and wrestling in 2028.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026

Mannon's 300 cattle survived the blaze - but the fencing needed to be replaced, and the herd still needed to be fed.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

ZVERNEC, Albania—On the doorstep of a Jared Kushner-linked development site on the Adriatic Sea, a group of determined villagers set out in late May to protest barbed-wire fencing preventing their access to a coastal peninsula.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

A factory stood on a hill to one side, the field below filled with flimsy buildings arranged in a square, fencing and razor wire strung around the perimeter.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

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