friend

noun

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\ ˈfrend

Definition of friend

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : one attached to another by affection or esteem She's my best friend.

b : acquaintance

2a : one that is not hostile Is he a friend or an enemy?

b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group showbiz friends

3 : one that favors or promotes something (such as a charity) this trend has alarmed friends of the liberal arts— Raymond Walters The friends of the library will host a fund-raiser.

4 : a favored companion

5 capitalized : a member of a Christian sect that stresses Inner Light, rejects sacraments and an ordained ministry, and opposes war

— called also Quaker

be friends with

: to have a friendship or friendly relationship with

friend

verb

friended; friending; friends

Definition of friend (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to act as the friend of : befriend

2 : to include (someone) in a list of designated friends on a person's social networking site

Other Words from friend Synonyms & Antonyms What's the difference between friends and acquaintances? More Example Sentences Learn More about friend

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Synonyms & Antonyms for friend

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Noun

enemy,
foe

What's the difference between friends and acquaintances?

People often distinguish between an acquaintance and a friend, holding that the former should be used primarily to refer to someone with whom one is not especially close. Many of the earliest uses of acquaintance were in fact in reference to a person with whom one was very close, but the word is now generally reserved for those who are known only slightly.

Acquaintance is often found paired with nodding. Although nodding acquaintance sounds like it describes a person who is known just enough to nod at, it tends to be used instead to refer to a thing or field with which one has a small amount of knowledge or familiarity (and this is the meaning that the phrase has had since its introduction to the language in the early 19th century).

Examples of friend in a Sentence

Noun … she … got a job, made friends and managed to write a novel that hit the best-seller lists and stayed there … — Garrison Keillor, New York Times Book Review, 11 June 2006 Over the last couple of years I have experienced moments of disbelief when I meet my friends in public. They look older than I think they should. — Alice Munro, In the Stacks, 2002 Never had a friend like that before or since. Never laughed so hard in my life as I did with Manny. — Philip Roth, American Pastoral, 1997 I'd like you to meet my friend. He's no friend of mine.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun In 2013, crossing Mexico by bike for the first time, a friend and I entertained the idea of visiting the monarchs at their overwintering sites. — Sara Dykman, Smithsonian Magazine, "Biking 10,000 Miles With Monarchs," 14 Apr. 2021 The charitable vision that love makes possible confronts snarling reality as Mercutio, Romeo’s friend, picks up Tybalt’s challenge and is slain as a result of Romeo’s clumsy intervention. — Los Angeles Times, "With Josh O’Connor and Lupita Nyong’o, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ speaks to our fractured society," 14 Apr. 2021 Just like Apple's beginnings were in a Los Altos garage, brothers Walter and Arthur Davidson and friend William Harley finished their first motorcycle in the Davidson family’s 10-by-15 backyard shed. — Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Here are 23 things we love about Milwaukee in honor of its 175th year as a city," 14 Apr. 2021 Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, was a polo partner and friend, the New York Times reported in 2007. — Charles Riley, CNN, "W. Galen Weston, billionaire and 'retail visionary,' is dead at 80," 14 Apr. 2021 Lifelong Alaskan, friend and mentor Phil Smith died peacefully at his Juneau home on March 30, surrounded by his family. — Anchorage Daily News, "Seafarers union looks to Alaska as it seeks hundreds of apprentice workers on contracted vessels," 13 Apr. 2021 One surefire way is to ask a friend or family member who's a bird-watcher to point out migrants for you on a bird hike. — Val Cunningham Special To The Star Tribune, Star Tribune, "Spring migration is a great time to catch a parade of birds passing through," 13 Apr. 2021 Boehner did not think those policies were enough to give Mr. Trump a fighting chance against his former congressional colleague and friend, current President Joe Biden. — Elizabeth Elkind, CBS News, "Boehner isn't to blame for today's GOP extremism, he says: "The American people opened the door"," 12 Apr. 2021 Other female writers were more philosophically in tune with the millennial Kelsey (Hilary Duff), Liza’s colleague and friend. — Kathryn Shattuck, New York Times, "‘Younger’ Departs a Covid-Free New York, a Fantasy to the End," 11 Apr. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The pair have also shared a beachfront villa next door to friend George Clooney in Los Cabos, Mexico. — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, "Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber Purchase $10 Million Waterfront Miami Beach Home: Source," 5 Jan. 2021 With those two gone, the show is down to only five cast members — plus Sutton Stracke, who was demoted from Housewife to friend almost as quickly as she was hired. — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "Bravo’s Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Franchise Just Scouted Its Very First Asian American Star," 26 Oct. 2020 This destination is ideal for any type of traveler, from couples to friend groups to families. — Molly O'brien, Travel + Leisure, "Visit One of These 8 Western U.S. Destinations for a Taste of Traveling Abroad," 13 June 2020 Shandling would quickly go from Apatow's boss and idol to friend. — Derek Lawrence, EW.com, "Meet Your Maker: King of Staten Island director Judd Apatow on his biggest influences," 11 June 2020 The Leslie Knope of 2020 multitasks through our global pandemic, phone-a-friending all her old co-workers from her office at the Department of the Interior. — Darren Franich, EW.com, "The Parks and Recreation reunion really was something special: Review," 1 May 2020 Yaide plans to return to his apartment in the Mission District, which friends maintained during his time in detention, Carmona-Cruz said. — Tatiana Sanchez, SFChronicle.com, "Coronavirus: Gay SF man detained multiple times by ICE ordered to be released amid outbreak," 16 Apr. 2020 The Queen of Hearts rules Wonderland and gives Alice and friends a hard time. — Francisco Guzman And Saeed Ahmed, CNN, "Google Doodle celebrates the man behind the Alice in Wonderland illustrations," 28 Feb. 2020 For insight into prospective jurors’ thinking, lawyers have taken to scouring their public social media postings, Hoffmeister said, which is fine under court rules as long as the lawyers don’t follow or friend them or send them messages. — Washington Post, "Jury selection in Weinstein case could prove to be drawn-out," 7 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'friend.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.