What does "bend" mean?
A curve.
Bend
/bɛnd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A curve.
- Grammar: bend is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bow, curve, flex, flexure.
- Useful contrasts: straightaway, flatirons, homestretch.
- Usage evidence: We will not bend to the will of a tyrant.
How to use "bend"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bend" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bend" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bend" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bend" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bend" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bow" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bend", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A curve.
"There's a sharp bend in the road ahead."
- 2 curved segment (of a road or river or railroad track etc.) wordnet
- 3 Any of the various knots which join the ends of two lines.
"A simpler version of the common bend with its ends in the same direction is used to join binder twine in a hay baling machine."
- 4 diagonal line traversing a shield from the upper right corner to the lower left wordnet
- 5 A severe condition caused by excessively quick decompression, causing bubbles of nitrogen to form in the blood; decompression sickness. in-plural
"A diver who stays deep for too long must ascend very slowly in order to prevent the bends."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 movement that causes the formation of a curve wordnet
- 7 One of the honourable ordinaries formed by two diagonal lines drawn from the dexter chief to the sinister base; it generally occupies a fifth part of the shield if uncharged, but if charged one third.
"Perhaps the most celebrated coat of arms is that of Scrope, which is Azure a bend Or. This is the coat over which, from 1385 to 1390, Sir Robert le Grosvenor and Sir Richard le Scrope invoked the High Court of Chivalry to decide which of them had the right to bear these arms. Chaucer gave evidence before the court. In the end the arms were awarded to Scrope, and Grosvenor was ordered to difference with a bordure Argent. This he disdained to do, and being highly dissatisfied with the verdict he appealed to Richard II who altered the decision of the court by refusing to allow the bend to Grosvenor at all! Grosvenor then adopted a garb, or sheaf of corn."
- 8 a circular segment of a curve wordnet
- 9 Turn; purpose; inclination; ends. obsolete
"Farewell, poor swain; thou art not for my bend."
- 10 an angular or rounded shape made by folding wordnet
- 11 In the leather trade, the best quality of sole leather; a butt; sometimes, half a butt cut lengthwise.
- 12 Hard, indurated clay; bind.
- 13 The thickest and strongest planks in a ship's sides, more generally called wales, which have the beams, knees, and futtocks bolted to them. in-plural
- 14 The frames or ribs that form the ship's body from the keel to the top of the sides. in-plural
"the midship bends"
- 15 A glissando, or glide between one pitch and another, especially one accomplished by bending a string (such as on guitar).
Verb
- 1 To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means. transitive
"If you bend the pipe too far, it will break."
- 2 cause (an object) to assume a crooked or angular form wordnet
- 3 To become curved. intransitive
"Look at the trees bending in the wind."
- 4 bend a joint wordnet
- 5 To cause to change direction. transitive
"Bend thine ear to supplication."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 change direction wordnet
- 7 To change direction. intransitive
"The road bends to the right."
- 8 turn from a straight course, fixed direction, or line of interest wordnet
- 9 To be inclined; to direct itself. intransitive
"to whom our vows and wishes bend"
- 10 form a curve wordnet
- 11 To stoop. intransitive, usually
"He bent down to pick up the pieces."
- 12 bend one's back forward from the waist on down wordnet
- 13 To bow in prayer, or in token of submission. intransitive
"Each to his great Father bends."
- 14 To force to submit. transitive
"They bent me to their will."
- 15 To submit. intransitive
"I am bending to my desire to eat junk food."
- 16 To apply to a task or purpose. transitive
"He bent the company's resources to gaining market share."
- 17 To apply oneself to a task or purpose. intransitive
"He bent to the goal of gaining market share."
- 18 To adapt or interpret to for a purpose or beneficiary. transitive
"Palladius did not lie, although he might have bent the facts a bit and even passed over in silence whatever might not have benefited his client's cause."
- 19 To tie, as in securing a line to a cleat; to shackle a chain to an anchor; make fast. transitive
"Bend the sail to the yard."
- 20 To smoothly change the pitch of a note. transitive
"You should bend the G slightly sharp in the next measure."
- 21 To swing the body when rowing. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A ghost town and former railway community in central British Columbia, Canada. Named after a 90-degree curve in the railway line.
- 2 A census-designated place in Tehama County, California, United States.
- 3 An unincorporated community in Maries County, Missouri, United States.
- 4 A city, the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States.
"Many locals thought doing so contradicted the democratic spirit of skiing, where strangers sharing a lift chair might include both billionaires with second homes in Bend and ski bums living in vans."
- 5 An unincorporated community in Meade County, South Dakota, United States.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 An unincorporated community in Lampasas County and San Saba County, Texas, United States.
- 7 A surname.
Example
"We will not bend to the will of a tyrant."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bend"?
Common synonyms include: bow, curve, flex, flexure, turn, aberrancy.
How do you use "bend" in a sentence?
We will not bend to the will of a tyrant.
How do you pronounce "bend"?
Pronounced /bɛnd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English benden, from Old English bendan (“to bind or bend (a bow), fetter, restrain”), from Proto-West Germanic *bandijan, from Proto-Germanic *bandijaną (“to bend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to bind, tie”). Cognate with Middle High German benden (“to fetter”), Danish bænde (“to bend”), Norwegian bende (“to bend”), Faroese benda (“to bend, inflect”), Icelandic benda (“to bend”). Related to bind, band, bond.
Etymology 2
Most places get their name from bends in rivers.