mend
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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:
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
The Defense Department has plenty of reasons to mend fences with Anthropic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
Doctors at a Los Angeles hospital were able to rule out gallstones, and on Tuesday, a representative for the “Goonies” star told The Times that they cracked the case, and Feldman is on the mend.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
With hiring on the mend and unemployment low, there’s little reason for the Fed to cut rates now.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026
He had climbed up the rope rigging of the balloon to mend a small hole with a piece of rubber and some spirit gum.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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
A critic breaks his hip in someone’s home and stays there, in charge, until it mends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2019
In the story he mends his broken heart by turning it to stone.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
The two presidents, however, appeared to have mended their relations at a White House meeting in February - after which Trump called his guest "terrific".
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
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 two mended their bond in public last year during an event in Mexico City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
And while Mama mended Papa’s shirt, he drove in our Carcachita to the nearest gas station to fill the gallon bottle with drinking water and to get more kerosene for the stove.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
A mending broken ankle made the four-hour wait a bit arduous, but worthwhile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 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
But inviting us to sit down with a show about mental health professionals mending their spirits is group therapy on a massive scale in a time of diagnosable disorder.
From Salon ● Feb. 7, 2026
With the Canada-US trade relationship increasingly unpredictable, Canada is seeking to bolster ties elsewhere, in some cases mending strained ties.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
“I’m sorry that I didn’t realize how late it was. Aunt Rachel, this is Nathaniel Eaton, Captain Eaton’s son, from the Dolphin. He was mending Hannah’s roof, and I helped him.”
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
