Fend - Definitions from Dictionary.com

9 results for: Fend

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

fend

–verb (used with object)

1.	to ward off (often fol. by off): to fend off blows.

2.	to defend.

–verb (used without object)

3.	to resist or make defense: to fend against poverty.

4.	to parry; fence.

5.	to shift; provide: to fend for oneself.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME fenden, aph. var. of defenden to defend

]

—Synonyms 5. manage, make out, get along.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Fend

To learn more about Fend visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

fend Audio Help   (fěnd) Pronunciation Key
v.   fend·ed, fend·ing, fends

v.   tr.

To ward off. Often used with off: fend off an attack.
Archaic To defend.

v. intr.

To make an effort to resist: fend against the cold.
To attempt to manage without assistance: had to fend for ourselves until we were rescued.

[Middle English fenden, short for defenden, to defend; see defend.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
fend

c.1300, shortening of defend. To fend for oneself (1629) is to see to one's own defense.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

fend
verb
1.	try to manage without help; "The youngsters had to fend for themselves after their parents died"
2.	withstand the force of something; "The trees resisted her"; "stand the test of time"; "The mountain climbers had to fend against the ice and snow" [syn: resist]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
fend [fend]

to look after oneself
Example: He is old enough to fend for himself.

Arabic:	يُعيل نَفْسَه، يَعْتَني بِنَفْسِه
Chinese (Simplified):	照料
Chinese (Traditional):	照料
Czech:	starat se (o sebe)
Danish:	klare sig selv
Dutch:	voor zichzelf zorgen
Estonian:	enda eest hoolitsema
Finnish:	pitää huolta itsestään
French:	se débrouiller
German:	sorgen für
Greek:	τα βγάζω πέρα μόνος μου
Hungarian:	gondoskodik önmagáról
Icelandic:	bjarga sér sjálfur
Indonesian:	menjaga diri
Italian:	arrangiarsi, provvedere a se stesso*

Japanese:	自活する
Latvian:	gādāt, *rūpēties par sevi
Lithuanian:	pasirūpinti savimi
Norwegian:	sørge for seg selv
Polish:	dać sobie radę
Portuguese (Brazil):	cuidar-se
Portuguese (Portugal):	defender-se
Romanian:	a se descurca (singur)
Russian:	полагаться на себя
Slovak:	starať sa
Slovenian:	skrbeti zase
Spanish:	defenderse
Swedish:	sörja för (klara, reda) sig själv
Turkish:	başının çaresine bakmak

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fend

De*fend"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defended; p. pr. & vb. n. Defending.] [F. d['e]fendre, L. defendere; de- + fendere (only in comp.) to strike; perh. akin to Gr. ? to strike, and E. dint. Cf. Dint, Defense, Fend.]

1. To ward or fend off; to drive back or away; to repel. [A Latinism & Obs.]

Th' other strove for to defend The force of Vulcan with his might and main. --Spenser.

2. To prohibit; to forbid. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Which God defend that I should wring from him. --Shak.

3. To repel danger or harm from; to protect; to secure against; attack; to maintain against force or argument; to uphold; to guard; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause; to defend character; to defend the absent; -- sometimes followed by from or against; as, to defend one's self from, or against, one's enemies.

The lord mayor craves aid . . . to defend the city. --Shak.

God defend the right! --Shak.

A village near it was defended by the river. --Clarendon.

4. (Law.) To deny the right of the plaintiff in regard to (the suit, or the wrong charged); to oppose or resist, as a claim at law; to contest, as a suit. --Burrill.

Syn: To Defend, Protect.

Usage: To defend is literally to ward off; to protect is to cover so as to secure against approaching danger. We defend those who are attacked; we protect those who are liable to injury or invasion. A fortress is defended by its guns, and protected by its wall.

As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it. --Is. xxxi. 5.

Leave not the faithful side That gave thee being, still shades thee and protects. --Milton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fend

Fend\, n. A fiend. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Fend

Fend\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fended; p. pr. & vb. n. Fending.] [Abbrev. fr. defend.] To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off; as, to fend off blows.

With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold. --Dryden.

To fend off a boat or vessel (Naut.), to prevent its running against anything with too much violence.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

FEND

FEND: in Acronym Finder

Browse Nearby Entries: