fender bender
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of fender bender
First recorded in 1960–65
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.
And this latest fender bender might be the one that finally illuminates dashboard warning lights for those bosses who have always so hastily turned to Woods in the past.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
The damage included shooting down one of our own fighter jets and a carrier fender bender with a civilian ship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
Then, when I departed said strip mall and made a left-hand turn across four lanes of traffic, I hit another car—it was worse than a fender bender, but no one was hurt.
From Slate ● May 12, 2024
On the last day of his life, Jonathan Mauk got into a fender bender in the parking lot of the Walmart in Highland, an accident that would otherwise be of little consequence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
On impact, he heard a crunching sound, somehow modest, a noise that reminded him more of a fender bender than what this was: a highspeed direct hit.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
