tend
1to be disposed or inclined in action, operation, or effect to do something: The particles tend to unite.
to be disposed toward an idea, emotion, way of thinking, etc.: He tends to be overly optimistic.Her religious philosophy tends toward pantheism.
to lead or conduce, as to some result or resulting condition: measures tending to improved working conditions;Governments are tending toward democracy.
to be inclined to or have a tendency toward a particular quality, state, or degree: This wine tends toward the sweet side.
(of a journey, course, road, etc.) to lead or be directed in a particular direction (usually followed by to, toward, etc.): a path tending toward the beach.
Origin of tend
1Words Nearby tend
Other definitions for tend (2 of 2)
to attend to by work or services, care, etc.: to tend a fire.
to look after; watch over and care for; minister to or wait on with service: to tend the sick.
Nautical. to handle or attend to (a rope).
to attend by action, care, etc. (usually followed by to).
tend on / upon Archaic. to attend or wait upon; minister to; serve: She tended on the sick and dying with infinite compassion.
Origin of tend
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tend in a sentence
FanGraphs analyst Jeff Zimmerman found pitchers who maintain their velocity tend to maintain their performance.
Such businesses, according to the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey, tend to be minority-owned.
Opportunity Zones haven’t fully reached their potential, but don’t write them off yet | jakemeth | September 16, 2020 | Fortune“Historically, corrections in the put-call ratio have tended to have sharp but short-lived market impacts,” the strategists wrote.
Why Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank think the September stocks sell-off has run its course | Bernhard Warner | September 14, 2020 | FortuneAs tends to happen when demand skyrockets but supply doesn't, prices on a wide range of items went up.
Price gouging and defective products rampant on Amazon, reports find | Kate Cox | September 11, 2020 | Ars TechnicaMost advertisers tend to be wowed by Amazon’s ability to drive direct response.
‘Amazon is a brand play for us’: How Buick is building a long-term partnership around Amazon’s ad business | Seb Joseph | September 10, 2020 | Digiday
There are reasons that European countries tend to avoid fluoride.
tend to your own garden, to quote the great sage of free speech, Voltaire, and invite people to follow your example.
The media tend to frame situations like this as aberrations, but in this case, quite the opposite is the truth.
Today’s GOP: Still Cool With Racist Pandering? | Michael Tomasky | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThey excite people, and primaries tend to be dominated by voters who are the most excited.
We tend to think not, but the rise of King, Kennedy, and Lincoln was unlikely, too.
This relation carefully noticed will tend to hold the lines together.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)My own opportunities have been very limited, yet so far as they go they tend to maintain the justice of this remark.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyShe did not yet know how necessary climbing might be, in her new country life, but her aspirations did not tend that way.
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn RaymondShooting guerrillas after they were caught and burning houses did not tend to make those left less cruel.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnSuch a course would tend only to bloody and interminable anarchy.
British Dictionary definitions for tend (1 of 2)
/ (tɛnd) /
(when tr, takes an infinitive) to have a general disposition (to do something); be inclined: children tend to prefer sweets to meat
(intr) to have or be an influence (towards a specific result); be conducive: the party atmosphere tends to hilarity
(intr) to go or move (in a particular direction): to tend to the south
Origin of tend
1British Dictionary definitions for tend (2 of 2)
/ (tɛnd) /
(tr) to care for: to tend wounded soldiers
(when intr, often foll by to) to attend (to): to tend to someone's needs
(tr) to handle or control: to tend a fire
(intr often foll by to) informal, mainly US and Canadian to pay attention
Origin of tend
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse