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
Madonna hunts pheasant in the English countryside, Thomas Edison electrocutes an elephant, Harry Harlow conducts callous experiments on monkeys, and Jimmy Carter fends off a swamp rabbit attack.
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Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Another shopper was able to fend off a hungry rat.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026
Korda fended off excellent final rounds from England's Hull and Mexico's Lopez, who both narrowly missed out on their first major victories.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
For almost a decade, the company headed by Elon Musk has been trying to fend off allegations that the assembly line in Tesla’s Fremont plant was a hostile work environment filled with racist slurs, graffiti and drawings of nooses and swastikas.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fend off
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Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Another shopper was able to fend off a hungry rat.
—Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026
Korda fended off excellent final rounds from England's Hull and Mexico's Lopez, who both narrowly missed out on their first major victories.
—ABC News, 7 June 2026
For almost a decade, the company headed by Elon Musk has been trying to fend off allegations that the assembly line in Tesla’s Fremont plant was a hostile work environment filled with racist slurs, graffiti and drawings of nooses and swastikas.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fend off
Cite this Entry
“Fend off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fend%20off. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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