friend
a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?
a member of the same nation, party, etc.
Friend, a member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker: The religious practices of Friends are founded in direct communion with God.
a person associated with another as a contact on a social media website: We've never met, but we're Facebook friends.
Rare. to befriend.
to add (a person) to one's list of contacts on a social media website: I just friended a couple of guys in my class.
Idioms about friend
make friends with, to enter into friendly relations with; become a friend to.
Origin of friend
1synonym study For friend
word story For friend
Frēond “friend, close acquaintance” has many cognates in Germanic: Old Frisian friūnd, Old Dutch friunt, Old High German friunt, German Freund, Gothic frijonds. Frēond comes from the Old English verb frēogan (also frēon ) “to love, free, set free,” and is a derivative of the Germanic root fri-, frī- (and suffixed form frija- ), which is also the source of English free (the progression of senses is “beloved,” then “one of the loved ones,” then “one not a slave, free”).
Old English fēond originally meant “enemy, foe” (and so was the opposite of friend ), and especially in Old English poetry, “Satan, the Devil” (in Beowulf the devil is referred to as fēond moncynnes “the enemy of mankind”). Fēond has many cognates in Germanic: Old Frisian fiand, Dutch vijand, German Feind, all meaning “enemy.” Fēond comes from the Old English verb fēogan “to hate,” from a Germanic root fī - (from a very complicated Proto-Indo-European root pē-, pēi-, pī- “to hurt, harm”).
Etymologically speaking, then, friend and fiend are acquaintances, and not relatives.
Other words for friend
Opposites for friend
Other words from friend
- friend·less, adjective
- friend·less·ness, noun
- non·friend, noun
Words Nearby friend
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use friend in a sentence
Those who live off campus and don’t plan on coming back to visit campus to, say, hang out with their friends don’t have to get tested.
Paul brushed him off because several friends had already started the process to see if they could be his donor, but each backed out.
A Welcome Lifeline | Washington Regional Transplant Community | September 17, 2020 | Washington BladeTrina advised those watching to check in with their friends who appear to be okay.
Trina Braxton To David Adefeso: ‘When You Attack One, You Attack Us All’ | Hope Wright | September 17, 2020 | Essence.comAmong other things, McCarthy said investigators learned that Ziona and LeBlond had been friends since the two were in middle school and that they remained friends after Ziona transitioned as a woman.
Md. man charged in 2015 trans murder sentenced to 35 years | Lou Chibbaro Jr. | September 17, 2020 | Washington BladeA couple years ago my friends were comparing step counts when they asked about mine.
In an email exchange a friend said many had repeated this same succinct review but they could never elaborate.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist | Judnick Mayard | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe two strengthened ties over the years and now Krauss considers Epstein a “close” and “considerate” friend.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking | M.L. Nestel | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat matters is being honest, humble, and a faithful and loyal friend, father and member of your community.
Abramoff’s Advice for Virginia’s New Jailhouse Guv | Tim Mak, Jackie Kucinich | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTDetectives with a fugitive task force caught up with Polanco and a friend on a Bronx street in the early afternoon.
The gentleman was listed as Orthodox and kosher, which is way too religious for my friend whose JSwipe account I was test-driving.
Some weeks after, the creditor chanced to be in Boston, and in walking up Tremont street, encountered his enterprising friend.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousThe blood that accused his friend in his heart, rushed to his face, when he repeated what had been told him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterIt is then we make him our friend, which sets us above the envy and contempt of wicked men.
Ripperda accompanied this unexpected refusal, with a laboured epistle to his imperial friend.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterA friend and companion meeting together in season, but above them both is a wife with her husband.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
British Dictionary definitions for friend (1 of 3)
/ (frɛnd) /
a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate
an acquaintance or associate
an ally in a fight or cause; supporter
a fellow member of a party, society, etc
a patron or supporter: a friend of the opera
be friends to be friendly (with)
make friends to become friendly (with)
(tr) an archaic word for befriend
Origin of friend
1Derived forms of friend
- friendless, adjective
- friendlessness, noun
- friendship, noun
British Dictionary definitions for Friend (2 of 3)
/ (frɛnd) /
a member of the Religious Society of Friends; Quaker
British Dictionary definitions for Friend (3 of 3)
/ (frɛnd) /
trademark mountaineering a device consisting of a shaft with double-headed spring-loaded cams that can be wedged in a crack to provide an anchor point
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with friend
In addition to the idiom beginning with friend
- friend in court
also see:
- fair-weather friend
- make friends
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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