fend

1 of 2

verb

fended; fending; fends

transitive verb

1
: defend
2
: to keep or ward off : repel
often used with off
fend off an invader
3
dialectal British : to provide for : support

intransitive verb

1
dialectal British : to make an effort : struggle
2
a
: to try to get along without help : shift
had to fend for themselves
b
: to provide a livelihood

fend

2 of 2

noun

chiefly Scotland
: an effort or attempt especially for oneself

Examples of fend in a Sentence

Verb learned to use humor to fend herself from criticism
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Barnetts went so far as to have Natalia’s age legally changed, then left her alone in an apartment to fend for herself. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 1 Jan. 2024 Cash seems to be a decent sort, still mourning his sister who died of a drug overdose and watching over his alcoholic brother-in-law Finney (Scott Haze, bringing the role surprising depths) and teenage niece Savannah (Chapel Oaks, Will Trent) who’s clearly learned to fend for herself. Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024 The Western tells the story of a 13-year-old boy fending for himself and his younger brother after the death of his parents, and he's sentenced to be hanged for the accidental killing of a rancher. USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 At birth, the babies are less than three inches in diameter—about the diameter of a baseball—and are ready to fend for themselves. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 18 Feb. 2024 Birds bred in captivity, perhaps unaccustomed to fending for themselves, are at least three times as likely to perish as wild birds. Meera Subramanian, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2024 Paul wanted her writing to fend for itself—but from a revolving wire rack? Joanna Biggs, Harper's Magazine, 10 Jan. 2024 Set in 1880s Kansas, Rust revolves around a 13-year-old boy left to fend for himself and his younger brother after the death of their parents. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 2 Jan. 2024 Instead, communities are left to fend for themselves. Amanda Joy Calhoun, Md, Parents, 4 Feb. 2024
Noun
Zach Edey finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds and Braden Smith made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to help No. 3 Purdue fend off Maryland’s furious second-half charge for a 58-55 victory. Michael Marot, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2023 At least in Colombia, work to breed more resistant varietals or to study how cacao plants in the wild fend off pathogens has been limited. Lindzi Wessel, Discover Magazine, 27 Sep. 2018 The party is trying to protect a razor-thin majority in the Senate and fend of GOP advances in the House of Representatives. Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2022 But in 2022 World Cup Qualifying, the two rivals have helped each other fend off other nations from stealing their automatic bids to the World Cup in Qatar. Drake Hills, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2022 Whether Gigi will be accepted back into the world of the whale or fend for herself in a hostile ocean after a year in the tame tanks of Sea World is a matter of conjecture. San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2022 Carr, who had over a dozen supporters speak at the meeting, said board members were lacking urgency in exploring major changes to better support students and fend of a plan by Republican lawmakers to dissolve the district. Rory Linnane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2022 Experts say frictions are fueled by a U.S. fend-for-yourself model around caring for kids. Alia E. Dastagir, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2022 Rodriguez can be an incredibly inventive director of action, but the choreography of the scene where Boba, Fennec, and the two Gamorrean fend off the shield-bearing assassins is just okay. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English fenden, short for defenden "to defend"

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1721, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fend was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near fend

Cite this Entry

“Fend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fend. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fend

verb
ˈfend
1
: to keep or ward off : repel sense 1
fend off an attack
2
: to try to get along without help
had to fend for themselves

More from Merriam-Webster on fend

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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