send
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cause, permit, or enable to go.
to send a messenger; They sent their son to college.
- Antonyms:
- receive
-
to cause to be conveyed or transmitted to a destination.
to send a letter.
-
to order, direct, compel, or force to go.
The president sent troops to Asia.
-
to direct, propel, or deliver to a particular point, position, condition, or direction.
to send a punch to the jaw; The punch sent the fighter reeling.
-
to emit, discharge, or utter (usually followed by off, out, orthrough ).
The lion sent a roar through the jungle.
-
to cause to occur or befall.
The people beseeched Heaven to send peace to their war-torn village.
-
Electricity.
-
to transmit (a signal).
-
to transmit (an electromagnetic wave or the like) in the form of pulses.
-
-
Slang. to delight or excite.
Frank Sinatra's records used to send her.
verb (used without object)
-
to dispatch a messenger, agent, message, etc.
-
Electricity. to transmit a signal.
The ship's radio sends on a special band of frequencies.
verb phrase
-
send out
-
to distribute; issue.
-
to send on the way; dispatch.
They sent out their final shipment last week.
-
to order delivery.
We sent out for coffee.
-
-
send in to cause to be dispatched or delivered to a destination.
Send in your contest entries to this station.
-
send off to cause to depart or to be conveyed from oneself; dispatch; dismiss.
His teacher sent him off to the principal's office.
-
send forth
-
to produce; bear; yield.
plants sending forth new leaves.
-
to dispatch out of a country as an export.
-
to issue, as a publication.
They have sent forth a report to the stockholders.
-
to emit or discharge.
The flowers sent forth a sweet odor.
-
-
send for to request the coming or delivery of; summon.
If her temperature goes up, send for the doctor.
-
send down to expel, especially from Oxford or Cambridge.
-
send up
-
to release or cause to go upward; let out.
-
Informal. to sentence or send to prison.
He was convicted and sent up for life.
-
to expose the flaws or foibles of through parody, burlesque, caricature, lampoon, or other forms of satire.
The new movie sends up merchants who commercialize Christmas.
-
idioms
-
send packing, to dismiss curtly; send away in disgrace.
The cashier was stealing, so we sent him packing.
-
send round, to circulate or dispatch widely.
Word was sent round about his illness.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to cause or order (a person or thing) to be taken, directed, or transmitted to another place
to send a letter
she sent the salesman away
-
to dispatch a request or command (for something or to do something)
he sent for a bottle of wine
he sent to his son to come home
-
(tr) to direct or cause to go to a place or point
his blow sent the champion to the floor
-
(tr) to bring to a state or condition
this noise will send me mad
-
(tr; often foll by forth, out, etc) to cause to issue; emit
his cooking sent forth a lovely smell from the kitchen
-
(tr) to cause to happen or come
misery sent by fate
-
to transmit (a message) by radio, esp in the form of pulses
-
slang (tr) to move to excitement or rapture
this music really sends me
-
to dismiss or get rid of someone
-
to dismiss or get rid of (someone) peremptorily
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of send
First recorded before 900; Middle English senden, Old English sendan; cognate with German senden, Gothic sandjan; akin to Old English sīth “journey,” sand “message, messenger”
Explanation
When you get something to end up at a destination, you send it. You can send an email, send a package, or even send a student to the dean's office. You can send a message in a letter or in an email, or you can send a rocket up into the air. You can also send a person somewhere: "My parents used to send me to camp every summer." If you kick someone out, you send them packing: "If my roommate whistles that song one more time, I swear I'll send her packing." And if you're really irritated, you might even send them flying, or knock them down.
Vocabulary lists containing send
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:
If you join by Aug. 14 and are among the first 100 people to complete the challenges, we’ll send you some fun stuff in the mail.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Arcuri said “memory suppliers are rewidening” the price premium for HBM, which could send average selling prices up by about 79% from the previous year, compared to his previous estimate for a 67% increase.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
He called on his counterparts in Medellín and Bogotá to send rescue crews to help pull people out of the rubble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
They send out signals that influence how those organs burn fuel, control blood flow and stay healthy.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Grandma said, “I know that your mother and father have been saving their money, hoping to send Daisy to the hospital. Do you know if they’ve saved any?”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
The 7.4 magnitude quake shook several cities across Colombia's coffee-producing region and the Pacific coast, sending terrified residents racing into the street.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
While the U.S. denies Iran has control of the strait, it has only occasionally risked sending warships into the Persian Gulf during the conflict, and then only for brief missions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
But they added: "We need to have an honest conversation about who we are sending to jail as we don't have the spaces to accommodate everyone we are sending."
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
But sending checks to customers who paid higher prices because of the tariffs doesn’t seem to be in the offing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
What did he make of the news that President Wilson was sending American troops to France?
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
They’ve sent Yum and Sweetgreen shares down 10% and 30%, respectively, in the past month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
A spokesperson said eight fire engines and a turntable ladder were sent to the scene, with no reports of any injuries.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
That idea sent me down a rabbit hole involving real-estate agents, tiny shoebox apartments and frustrating chats with mortgage brokers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
After a meal, it’s where most of the sugar, or glucose, in our blood is sent.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
After polishing off the platter of food, and then the date-filled ma’amoul cookies that Zara’s mom also sent, we busy ourselves for the rest of the day, organizing and cleaning everything everywhere.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
