Bending

verb (used with object)

to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form: to bend an iron rod into a hoop.

to direct or turn in a particular direction: to bend one's energies to the task.

to cause to submit or yield: to bend someone to one's will.

to modify or relax (restrictions, regulations, etc.) temporarily or in certain circumstances: to bend the rules.

to incline mentally (usually followed by to or toward ): bending his thoughts back toward his childhood.

to pull back the string of (a bow or the like) in preparation for shooting.

Nautical. to fasten.

Archaic. to strain or brace tensely (often followed by up ).

Relevant Questions

verb (used without object)

to become curved, crooked, or bent: a bow that bends easily.

10.

to assume a bent posture; stoop (often followed by over ): to bend as one walks; to bend over and pick up something.

11.

to turn or incline in a particular direction; be directed: The road bent toward the south.

12.

to yield or submit; give in.

13.

to bow in submission or reverence: bending to one's monarch.

14.

to direct one's energies: We bent to our work as the bell sounded.

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a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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noun

15.

the act of bending.

16.

something that bends; curve; crook: a bend in the road; a bend in the curtain rod.

17.

Nautical. any of various loops or knots for joining the ends of two ropes or the like, or for joining the end of a rope or the like to some other object.

18.

bends, Nautical.

thick planking immediately below the waterways of a wooden vessel.

the wales of a vessel.

19.

the bends, aeroembolism ( def 2 ).

Idioms

20.

around/round the bend, Slang. insane; crazy: These interruptions will send me round the bend!

21.

bend/lean/fall over backward, to exert oneself to the utmost; make a serious effort: They bent over backward to make sure their guests were comfortable.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English benden (v.) Old English bendan to bind, bend (a bow); cognate with Middle High German benden, Old Norse benda; akin to Old Norse band band. See band³

Related forms

bend·a·ble, adjective

non·bend·ing, adjective

re·bend·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. curve, crook, flex, bow. 3. mold, subdue, influence. 10. Bend, bow, stoop imply taking a bent posture. Bend and bow are used of the head and upper body; stoop is used of the body only.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To bending

Collins

World English Dictionary

bend¹ (bɛnd)

—vb , bends, bending, bent
1.	to form or cause to form a curve, as by pushing or pulling
2.	to turn or cause to turn from a particular direction: the road bends left past the church
3.	(intr; often foll by down, etc) to incline the body; stoop; bow
4.	to submit or cause to submit: to bend before superior force
5.	(tr) to turn or direct (one's eyes, steps, attention, etc)
6.	(tr) to concentrate (the mind); apply oneself closely
7.	(tr) nautical to attach or fasten, as a sail to a boom or a line to a cleat
8.	informal bend over backwards to make a special effort, esp in order to please: he bends over backwards to accommodate his customers
9.	informal bend someone's ear to speak at length to an unwilling listener, esp to voice one's troubles
10.	informal bend the rules to ignore rules or change them to suit one's own convenience

—n
11.	a curved part, as in a road or river
12.	nautical a knot or eye in a line for joining it to another or to an object
13.	the act or state of bending
14.	slang (Brit) round the bend mad; crazy; eccentric

[Old English bendan; related to Old Norse benda, Middle High German benden; see bind, band³]

'bendable¹

—*adj*

bend² (bɛnd)

—n
	heraldry an ordinary consisting of a diagonal line traversing a shield

[Old English bendband²; see bend¹]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

bend

O.E. bendan "to confine with a string," causative of bindan "to bind," from P.Gmc. base *band- "string, band" (cf. O.N. benda "to join, strain, strive, bend"), from PIE base *bhendh- (cf. Goth. bindan, O.H.G. bintan, Skt. badhnati "binds," Lith. bendras "partner;" O.Pers. bandaka- "subject"). Modern

sense (early 14c.) is via notion of bending a bow to string it. Cognate with band, bind, and bond. The noun meaning "thing of bent shape" is from c.1600. The bends "decompression pain" first attested 1894.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

bend (běnd)
v. bent (běnt), bend·ing, bends
To incline the body; stoop.

Example sentences

But they have encouraged the bending of definitions and the turning of blind

eyes.

Anyone who engages in heavy lifting should take precautions when lifting and

bending.

Psychopaths also may enjoy lying, and even when caught will persist in bending

the truth.

These questions have been bending our minds for thousands of years.

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Matching Quote

"We have bathed, where none have seen us,
In the lake and in the fountain,
Underneath the charmed statue
Of the timid, bending Venus,"

-Thomas Lovell Beddoes