fend off

verb

fended off; fending off; fends off

: to defend oneself against (someone or something)

They succeeded in fending off the attack/attackers.

They have had to fend off allegations of voter fraud.

Examples of fend off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While fending off criticisms over his handling of the bridge, McKee has gone on the attack, accusing Foulkes as an out-of-touch corporate executive trying to buy her way into the election. — ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

But Steinberg isn’t sure Watson will play well enough to fend off backup Shedeur Sanders, and start the whole season. — Ryan Canfield Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026

That fait accompli, all ninety thousand square feet of it, is, of course, what Trump has been counting on as his lawyers have fended off court challenges and a two-hundred-and-fifty-person construction crew has raced toward completion. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

Her ground game was solid, and her first serve both won her free points and fended off a surging Zeynep Sönmez when things got tight. — Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Rhymes for fend off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff