send
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause, permit, or enable to go.
to send a messenger; They sent their son to college.
- Antonyms:
- receive
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to cause to be conveyed or transmitted to a destination.
to send a letter.
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to order, direct, compel, or force to go.
The president sent troops to Asia.
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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.
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to emit, discharge, or utter (usually followed by off, out, orthrough ).
The lion sent a roar through the jungle.
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to cause to occur or befall.
The people beseeched Heaven to send peace to their war-torn village.
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Electricity.
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to transmit (a signal).
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to transmit (an electromagnetic wave or the like) in the form of pulses.
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Slang. to delight or excite.
Frank Sinatra's records used to send her.
verb (used without object)
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to dispatch a messenger, agent, message, etc.
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Electricity. to transmit a signal.
The ship's radio sends on a special band of frequencies.
verb phrase
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send out
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to distribute; issue.
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to send on the way; dispatch.
They sent out their final shipment last week.
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to order delivery.
We sent out for coffee.
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send in to cause to be dispatched or delivered to a destination.
Send in your contest entries to this station.
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send off to cause to depart or to be conveyed from oneself; dispatch; dismiss.
His teacher sent him off to the principal's office.
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send forth
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to produce; bear; yield.
plants sending forth new leaves.
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to dispatch out of a country as an export.
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to issue, as a publication.
They have sent forth a report to the stockholders.
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to emit or discharge.
The flowers sent forth a sweet odor.
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send for to request the coming or delivery of; summon.
If her temperature goes up, send for the doctor.
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send down to expel, especially from Oxford or Cambridge.
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send up
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to release or cause to go upward; let out.
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Informal. to sentence or send to prison.
He was convicted and sent up for life.
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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.
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idioms
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send packing, to dismiss curtly; send away in disgrace.
The cashier was stealing, so we sent him packing.
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send round, to circulate or dispatch widely.
Word was sent round about his illness.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(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
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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
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(tr) to direct or cause to go to a place or point
his blow sent the champion to the floor
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(tr) to bring to a state or condition
this noise will send me mad
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(tr; often foll by forth, out, etc) to cause to issue; emit
his cooking sent forth a lovely smell from the kitchen
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(tr) to cause to happen or come
misery sent by fate
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to transmit (a message) by radio, esp in the form of pulses
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slang (tr) to move to excitement or rapture
this music really sends me
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to dismiss or get rid of someone
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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:
As Johna was about to send her information over, she suddenly grew suspicious.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
The swings in focus and the message that those changes send about what makes a “good school” is part of why every year higher-education leaders grumble about the outsized influence of the rankings.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
“We really need to send a memo around explaining we’ve got midterm elections coming,” Kennedy told Politico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Principal among these: Allow Australian producers to send live cattle, preferably pregnant live cattle, to America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
If it rained, he’d have to trust his sleeping-sack to keep him dry, and pray that the river spirit didn’t send another flood, because he’d built too close to the water.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Saudi Aramco, the country’s state-controlled oil giant, is loading more oil onto tankers in the Persian Gulf and then taking its chances sending them through the Strait of Hormuz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
In early September 2026, Anak Krakatau entered a prolonged explosive phase that lasted for more than 24 hours, sending large amounts of gas and ash into the sky.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
In 2017, European Athletics proposed wiping out records set before 2005 - sending a strong signal that records set before then were disputable.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Then, they wrote more songs and massaged those for another two years before finishing the recording and sending the album to be mixed in 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
Camille jumps out of her chair, sending it clattering onto the wood floor.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Pruett ushered them inside, fed them and sent them away with some cash — after making them wash their own dishes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
At age 17, Cramer was sent off to fulfill his 30-year service in the Marines’ secret space program.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Before the Iran war, Saudi Arabia sent most of its oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and onward to customers in Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Mourinho's side had defender Dean Huijsen sent off early in the second half, when the game was goalless, for pulling down Atletico's Giuliano Simeone just inside the penalty area.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Two’s red eyes shined with a fear so piercing, it sent a shiver up Clare’s spine.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
