mend
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To physically repair.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mehndIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɛnd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged).
transitivefigurative
To correct or put right (an error, a fault, etc.); to rectify, to remedy.
intransitivefigurative
Of an illness: to become less severe; also, of an injury or wound, or an injured body part: to get better, to heal.
transitivefigurative
To put (something) in a better state; to ameliorate, to improve, to reform, to set right.
intransitivefigurative
Of a person: to become healthy again; to recover from illness.
transitivefigurative
In mend one's pace: to adjust (a pace or speed), especially to match that of someone or something else; also, to quicken or speed up (a pace).
noun
The act of putting something in working order again
countable
An act of repairing.
countable
A place in a thing (such as a tear in clothing) which has been repaired.
uncountable
Chiefly in on the mend: improvement in health; recovery from illness.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (figurative) To correct or put right (an error, a fault, etc.); to rectify, to remedy.
Used this way, mend is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Garments that must be repaired.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A workman who is employed to repair roads.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to physically repair (something that is broken or defaced
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.