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mend

[mend]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
  2. to remove or correct defects or errors in.
  3. to set right; make better; improve: to mend matters.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to progress toward recovery, as a sick person.
  2. (of broken bones) to grow back together; knit.
  3. to improve, as conditions or affairs.
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noun
  1. the act of mending; repair or improvement.
  2. a mended place.
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Idioms
  1. mend sail, Nautical. to refurl sails that have been badly furled.Also mend the furl.
  2. on the mend,
    1. recovering from an illness.
    2. improving in general, as a state of affairs: The breach between father and son is on the mend.
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Origin of mend

1150–1200; Middle English menden, aphetic variant of amend
Related formsmend·a·ble, adjectivere·mend, verbun·mend·a·ble, adjectiveun·mend·ed, adjectivewell-mend·ed, adjective

Synonyms

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1. fix, restore, retouch. 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. 2. rectify, amend, emend. 3. ameliorate, meliorate. 4. heal, recover, amend.

Antonyms

1. ruin, destroy, 4. die, sicken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

helped, revived, renewed, remodeled, rebuilt, doctored, altered, relieved, corrected, improved, fixed, repaired, rejuvenated, enhanced, refreshed, lessened, rectified, abated, bettered

Examples from the Web for mended

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The sleeves of her jacket had been torn, and were mended with a material of another colour.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • The fore-topsail had been mended as well as the foresail, and was set anew.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • Because, now it's mended, that gives us something to talk about.

  • The broken strings of the violins were immediately found to be mended.

  • The others make me smile with their mended legs and their vanished sores.

British Dictionary definitions for mended

mend

verb
  1. (tr) to repair (something broken or unserviceable)
  2. to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways)
  3. (intr) to heal or recover
  4. (intr) (of conditions) to improve; become better
  5. (tr) Northern English to feed or stir (a fire)
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noun
  1. the act of repairing
  2. a mended area, esp on a garment
  3. on the mend becoming better, esp in health
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Derived Formsmendable, adjectivemender, noun

Word Origin

C12: shortened from amend
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

Word Origin and History for mended

mend

v.

c.1200, "to repair," from a shortened form of Old French amender (see amend). Meaning "to put right, atone for, amend (one's life), repent" is from c.1300; that of "to regain health" is from early 15c. Related: Mended; mending.

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mend

n.

early 14c., "recompense, reparation," from mend (v.). Meaning "act of mending; a repaired hole or rip in fabric" is from 1888. Phrase on the mend attested from 1802.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with mended

mend

In addition to the idioms beginning with mend

  • mend one's fences
  • mend one's ways

also see:

  • on the mend
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.