mend·ing

[men-ding]
noun
1.
the act of a person or thing that mends.
2.
articles, especially clothes, to be mended: Grandmother always kept her mending in this wicker basket.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English; see mend, -ing1

Dictionary.com Unabridged

mend

[mend]
verb (used with object)
1.
to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.
2.
to remove or correct defects or errors in.
3.
to set right; make better; improve: to mend matters.
verb (used without object)
4.
to progress toward recovery, as a sick person.
5.
(of broken bones) to grow back together; knit.
6.
to improve, as conditions or affairs.
noun
7.
the act of mending; repair or improvement.
8.
a mended place.
9.
mend sail, Nautical. to refurl sails that have been badly furled. Also, mend the furl.
10.
on the mend,
a.
recovering from an illness.
b.
improving in general, as a state of affairs: The breach between father and son is on the mend.

Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English menden, aphetic variant of amend

mend·a·ble, adjective
re·mend, verb
un·mend·a·ble, adjective
un·mend·ed, adjective
well-mend·ed, adjective


1. fix, restore, retouch. Mend, darn, patch mean to repair something and thus renew its usefulness. Mend is a general expression that emphasizes the idea of making whole something damaged: to mend a broken dish, a tear in an apron. Darn and patch are more specific, referring particularly to repairing holes or rents. To darn is to repair by means of stitches interwoven with one another: to darn stockings. To patch is to cover a hole or rent (usually) with a piece or pieces of similar material and to secure the edges of these; it implies a more temporary or makeshift repair than the others: to patch the knees of trousers, a rubber tire. 2. rectify, amend, emend. 3. ameliorate, meliorate. 4. heal, recover, amend.


1. ruin, destroy, 4. die, sicken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To mending
00:10
Mending is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
Collins
World English Dictionary
mend (mɛnd) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
1.  (tr) to repair (something broken or unserviceable)
2.  to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways)
3.  (intr) to heal or recover
4.  (intr) (of conditions) to improve; become better
5.  (Northern English) (tr) to feed or stir (a fire)
 
n
6.  the act of repairing
7.  a mended area, esp on a garment
8.  on the mend becoming better, esp in health
 
[C12: shortened from amend]
 
'mendable
 
adj
 
'mender
 
n

mending (ˈmɛndɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
something to be mended, esp clothes

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

mend
c.1200, "to free from sin or fault, improve morally," from an aphetic form of O.Fr. amender (see amend). Meaning "to fix something torn or broken" is from mid-14c.; that of "to regain health" is from c.1500. Related: Mended; mending.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Financial aid would only discourage countries from mending their finances.
The flattened maps were then reattached to the supports using hinges of mending
  tissue around the perimeter.
Now, though the overall economy seems to be mending, housing remains stubbornly
  weak.
The latter may include dry cleaning, mending small tears with archival mending
  tissue tape, or humidification and flattening.
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