Mend
/mend/
Definitions
3 meaningsTo repair something that is broken or damaged; to fix.
/mend/
To repair or fix something that is broken or damaged.
Can you mend my broken toy?
💡 Simply: Imagine your favorite toy is broken. Mending means to put it back together so it works again! You can mend a broken toy, a torn shirt, or even a friendship.
👶 For kids: To fix something that's broken.
More Examples
I need to mend this hole in my sweater.
The tailor mended the seam on my dress.
How It's Used
"She mended the tear in her jeans."
"He needs to mend the leaky faucet in the bathroom."
To improve or correct something, especially a relationship or situation.
/mend/
To improve or correct something.
It will take time to mend the relationship after the argument.
💡 Simply: Sometimes things go wrong, like a friendship getting upset or a reputation getting a bad rap. To mend means to make things right, like saying sorry and making things better.
👶 For kids: To make something good again, like fixing a friendship or making someone feel better.
More Examples
The new policy aims to mend the company's image.
They decided to mend their ways after the mistakes.
How It's Used
"They tried to mend their broken friendship."
"He sought to mend his reputation after the scandal."
An act of mending or repairing; a state of being repaired.
/mend/
A mending of a breach
The artist showed the mends done to the pottery.
💡 Simply: The act of fixing something or making something better. It's like when you're mending your clothes, the mend is the area you fixed.
👶 For kids: The spot or the work that repairs things
More Examples
The slow mend of the economy began after the crisis.
How It's Used
"The mends of friendship were long and hard won."
Idioms & expressions
on the mend
Improving or recovering, usually from an illness or injury.
"After the surgery, he's finally on the mend."
From Middle English menden, from Old English *mendian (found only in derivatives), from Proto-Germanic *mātaną (“to repair, correct”). Related to Old Frisian mendia, Old Saxon mendian, Old High German meizzen.
The word 'mend' has been used since Old English and has consistently referred to the act of repairing or improving something.
Memory tip
Think of a *men* repairing something - *mend*.
Word Origin
"to repair, correct"