friend

1 of 2

noun

ˈfrend 

plural friends

1

a

: one attached to another by affection or esteem

childhood friends

She's my best friend.

Dogs are often considered man's best friend.

We're just friends. [=we are not in a romantic relationship]

—sometimes used ironically or humorously to refer to a person who is disliked or annoying

Has our friend with the rude attitude been bothering you lately?

Don't look now. Here comes your friend.

b

: acquaintance

made casual friends with a few coworkers

2

a

: one that is not hostile

Are you friend or foe?

b

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

showbiz friends

3

: one that favors or promotes something (such as a cause or charity)

a friend of the environment

The strikers knew they had a friend in the senator.

This trend has alarmed friends of the liberal arts …

—Raymond Walters

The friends of the library will host a fund-raiser.

4

euphemistic + somewhat old-fashioned : a favored romantic companion

a lady/gentleman friend

… Willa Cather, never married, had a romantic friendship with Isabella McClung when she was young …; she lived in New York with another woman friend and assistant, Edith Lewis, for 39 years.

—Wendy Griswold and Anna Michelson

5

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

called also Quaker

6

: a person included in a list of one's designated connections (see connection entry 3) on a social media service

A 2012 study found that 57 percent of couples stay Facebook friends after a breakup …

—Caitlin Dewey

7

: something that is beneficial, expedient, or advantageous

When it comes to investing, time is your friend.

—Daniel Kline

For shading, pencils are your friend, because they allow you to vary line darkness through pressure.

—Andy Wright

friendless

ˈfren(d)-ləs 

adjective

friendlessness noun

friend

2 of 2

verb

friended; friending; friends

transitive verb

1

: to act as the friend of : befriend

2

: to include (someone) in one's list of designated friends on a social media service

I became more discerning with who I friended on social media.

—Victoria Song

For me, Facebook is about staying in touch with people I care about. … But my kids see it differently, as a more casual connection. Hence, my son, who recently turned 21, has 1,000-plus friends. He has apparently friended everyone on God's green earth except his mother.

—Bella English

Phrases

be friends with

: to have a friendship or friendly relationship with

Did you know?

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).

Synonyms of friend

Noun

• buddy
• colleague
• confidant

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, The 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

The epicenter of Los Angeles effectively shut down for several hours as the parade wove through the sea of fans bleeding Dodger blue with the Boys in Blue riding atop double-decker buses with friends and family, while waving to fans and holding the Commissioner’s Trophy. —Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025

Later, from the top of a steep and very beautiful hill where he is buried, everyone came down to the road except my mother and a friend of my father’s named Arnie. —Literary Hub, 4 Nov. 2025

Verb

Might friend Taylor Swift be on hand to introduce one of her musical performances? —Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 1 Oct. 2025

For a leveled-up beef bite, head on over to BEAR Steak Sandwiches, where longtime friends Ricardo Barrientos and Aki Erenberg have found the mathematically conclusive perfect ratio of steak to soft, tasty Portuguese buns in their beef sandwiches (no actual bears on the menu here). —Gizelle Lau, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English frend, from Old English frēond; akin to Old High German friunt friend, Old English frēon to love, frēo free

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing friend

• a friend in need is a friend indeed
• best friend
• boy friend
• childhood friend
• family friend
• friend of the court
• friend with benefits
• friend zone
• just a friend
• man's best friend
• next friend
• old friend
• pen friend

Rhymes for friend

• blend
• blende
• denned
• end
• fend
• lend
• mend
• penned
• send
• spend
• tend
• trend

Kids Definition

friend

1 of 2 noun

ˈfrend 

1

: a person who has a strong liking for and trust in another

2

: a person who is not an enemy

are you friend or foe

3

: a person who aids or favors something

4

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

friendless

-ləs 

adjective

friendlessness noun

friend

2 of 2 verb

1

: to act as the friend of : befriend

2

: to include (a name) in a list of designated friends on one's social networking site