fended; fending; fends
1
: defend
2
: to keep or ward off : repel
—often used with off
fend off an invader
3
dialectal British
: to provide for : support
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
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
When Bertha served her purpose and was no longer useful, she was just discarded and left to fend for herself.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for fend
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Verb
Of course, some eight hundred thousand did die—many in horrific ways—while the formerly enslaved were left to fend for themselves in a postwar state where apartheid was enforced by terror.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
When Bertha served her purpose and was no longer useful, she was just discarded and left to fend for herself.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for fend
Cite this Entry
“Fend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fend. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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