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on the mend

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mend

  [mend]
Use on the mend in a Sentence
–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.
—Idioms
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; ME menden, aph. var. of amend

Related forms:
mend⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
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.

Antonyms:
1. ruin, destroy, 4. die, sicken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mend   (měnd)   
v.   mend·ed, mend·ing, mends

v.   tr.

  1. To make repairs or restoration to; fix.

  2. To reform or correct: mend one's ways.

v.   intr.

    1. To improve in health or condition: The patient is mending well.

    2. To heal: The bone mended in a month.

  2. To make repairs or corrections.

n.  

  1. The act of mending: did a neat mend on the sock.

  2. A mended place: You can't tell where the mend is.


[Middle English menden, short for amenden, to amend; see amend.]
mend'a·ble adj., mend'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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 1362; that of "to regain health" is from 1500.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2mend
Function: noun
: an act of mending or repair —on the mend : getting better or improving especially in health
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

on the mend

Recovering one's health, as in I heard you had the flu, but I'm glad to see you're on the mend. This idiom uses mend in the sense of "repair." [c. 1800]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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