bend
bend Lexical Profile
bend Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A curve, turn, or angled part in a road, river, path, or physical object.
"The driver slowed down as the car approached a sharp bend in the mountain road."
An act or movement of curving the body, a joint, or a limb.
"Perform a slow knee bend to warm up your leg muscles before running."
A knot used in seamanship and climbing to join two ropes together or fasten a rope to another object.
"The sailor used a sheet bend to secure the two lines of different thicknesses."
• verb
To shape, force, or curve something from a straight form into an angle or arc, or to become curved in this way.
"The tall pine trees began to bend under the force of the coastal wind."
To incline the body downward from the waist or flex a joint such as the knee or elbow.
"Remember to bend your knees when lifting heavy boxes from the floor."
To yield, submit, or alter a rule, principle, or opinion to accommodate someone or something.
"The committee refused to bend the eligibility rules for late applicants."
To direct or focus one's mind, attention, or energies toward a specific task or goal.
"The researchers bent their efforts toward finding a sustainable energy solution."
Word Nuance & Usage
The standard past tense and past participle is 'bent', though the archaic form 'bended' survives exclusively in the fixed idiom 'on bended knee'. In the plural form 'the bends', the noun specifically denotes decompression sickness experienced by deep-sea divers.
• Rhymes for bend
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English bendan, meaning 'to bind, fetter, or string a bow by curving the wood', from the Proto-Germanic root *bandjanan, which is closely related to 'band' and 'bind'.