mend
Americanverb (used with object)
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mends,
present (3rd person singular)
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mended,
past participle, past
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mending
present participle
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to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing.
to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
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to remove or correct defects or errors in.
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to set right; make better; improve.
to mend matters.
- Synonyms:
- ameliorate
verb (used without object)
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mends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mended,
past participle, past
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mending
present participle
idioms
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mend sail, to refurl sails that have been badly furled. Also mend the furl
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on the mend,
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recovering from an illness.
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improving in general, as a state of affairs.
The breach between father and son is on the mend.
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verb
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(tr) to repair (something broken or unserviceable)
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to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways )
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(intr) to heal or recover
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(intr) (of conditions) to improve; become better
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(tr) to feed or stir (a fire)
noun
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the act of repairing
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a mended area, esp on a garment
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becoming better, esp in health
Synonym Usage
Mend, darn, patch mean to repair something and thus renew its usefulness. Mend is a general expression that emphasizes the idea of making whole something damaged: to mend a broken dish, a tear in an apron. Darn and patch are more specific, referring particularly to repairing holes or tears. To darn is to repair by means of stitches interwoven with one another: to darn stockings. To patch is to cover a hole or tear, usually with a piece or pieces of similar material and to secure the edges of these; it implies a more temporary or makeshift repair than the others: to patch the knees of trousers, a rubber tire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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mendernoun
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remendverb
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mendableadjective
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unmendableadjective
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unmendedadjective
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well-mendedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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mendsimple
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mendssimple
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have mendedperfect
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has mendedperfect
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am mendingprogressive
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are mendingprogressive
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is mendingprogressive
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have been mendingperfect progressive
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has been mendingperfect progressive
Past
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mendedsimple
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had mendedperfect
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was mendingprogressive
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were mendingprogressive
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had been mendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mend
1150–1200; Middle English menden, aphetic variant of amend
Explanation
When you mend something, you fix it or make it better. If you can mend your broken lamp, then it will shine again. If not you'll have to sit in the dark. The word mend was originally used as a religious term, meaning to free a person from sin, usually through repentance and good deeds. Mend has come to refer to fixing something that is broken. A mechanic might mend a broken car, or a seamstress might mend a torn dress. The word also frequently relates health and healing. Someone recovering from a long bout of the flu is said to be "on the mend." But as the song goes, "How can you mend a broken heart?"
Vocabulary lists containing mend
"Mending Wall," by Robert Frost
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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
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Mr. Popper’s Penguins
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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.
See Examples For:
There’s already evidence that at least some Democrats are trying to mend fences.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
According the legend, boy and girl twins born in Higashi Village on a day with equal parts day and night herald a cataclysm that only they can mend.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
At the other end of the room, Ahmat Adam Ateib, 22, has a metal rod in his right leg, to mend a double fracture of his femur.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Attempts to mend US-South Africa relations have floundered.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
A few minutes later the saucepan was heating almost the last of their clean water, and he went to search among the heap of fence posts for something to mend the paddle with.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
I found a local tailor who mends with precision and fell in love with pieces that I forgot I even had.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2025
Those positions will not return, even as the business mends, executives said.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2024
Later in the day, chefs from nearby restaurants would come by the shaded spot where Tibau mends his nets and buy the morning’s catch for about $175.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2022
He mends together disparate experiences to strengthen the tapestry of the whole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
In the story he mends his broken heart by turning it to stone.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
When he entered the race for attorney general, Roy said he and Trump had mended fences, pointing to the president’s remark last summer that Roy is “not easy, but he’s good.”
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Saudi Arabia, a rival heavyweight, mended ties with Tehran after a seven-year rupture in 2023.
From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026
The speed at which India and Canada have mended their relationship show that both prime ministers are well aware of today's global realities.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026
The singer wishes a failed relationship could be mended if only they were alone together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
After Nuwa, the goddess with the fish tail, mended the sky, there were still many problems.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
A mending broken ankle made the four-hour wait a bit arduous, but worthwhile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
There’s a tension in his art, between fracture and mending, destruction and creation, that holds out a promise of rebirth and lends humble forms outsize power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
"You don't get many people mending raw cashmere," said Wade, whose role is to meticulously inspect and darn any defects in the fabric by hand, before it is washed, cut and shipped around the world.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
After Hasina's fall, Dhaka wasted little time in mending fences with Islamabad.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
He would have liked to move quickly, but it was slow, careful work mending the wing.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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.
