tend

1 to take charge of especially on behalf of another tend the store while I run an errand Synonyms attend, care (for), mind, oversee, superintend, supervise, watch Related Words administrate, conduct, control, direct, govern, guide, manage, operate, preside (over), regulate, run, steward; guard, patrol, protect, safeguard, shield; baby, babysit, chaperone (or chaperon), mother, shepherd Phrases look after, see after, see to, take care of Near Antonyms abandon, disregard, forget, ignore, neglect, pass over

2 to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden Synonyms crop, cultivate, culture, dress, promote, raise, rear, tendRelated Words breed, produce, propagate; plant, sow; gather, glean, harvest, reap; germinate, quicken, ripen, root, sproutNear Antonyms kill; dig, extirpate, pick, pluck, pull (up), uproot; cut, hay, mow

3 to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens Synonyms cultivate, tend, tillRelated Words crop, plant; harvest, reap; harrow, hoe; sharecrop

4 to look after and make decisions about the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone Synonyms administer, administrate, carry on, control, direct, govern, guide, handle, keep, manage, operate, overlook, oversee, preside (over), regulate, run, steward, superintend, supervise, tendRelated Words care (for), mind, watch; lead, pilot, steer; guard, protect, safeguard; micromanage, stage-manage; codirect, comanage