mend
Meanings
- To physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged).
- To add fuel to (a fire).
- To correct or put right (an error, a fault, etc.); to rectify, to remedy.
- To put (something) in a better state; to ameliorate, to improve, to reform, to set right.
- To remove fault or sin from (someone, or their behaviour or character); to improve morally, to reform.
- 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).
- To correct or put right the defects, errors, or faults of (something); to amend, to emend, to fix.
- To increase the quality of (someone or something); to better, to improve on; also, to produce something better than (something else).
- To make amends or reparation for (a wrong done); to atone.
- To restore (someone or something) to a healthy state; to cure, to heal.
- To adjust or correctly position (something; specifically (nautical), a sail).
- To put out (a candle).
- Senses relating to improvement or repairing.
- An act of repairing.
- A place in a thing (such as a tear in clothing) which has been repaired.
- Chiefly in on the mend: improvement in health; recovery from illness.
- Recompense; restoration or reparation, especially (Christianity) from sin.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English menden (“to cure; to do good to, benefit; to do or make better, improve; to get better, recover; to keep in a good state; to put right, amend; to reform, repent”), the aphetic form of amenden (“to alter, change (especially for the better); to atone; to chastise, punish; to correct, remedy, amend; to cure; to excel, surpass; to forgive; to get or make better, improve; to make ready; to mend, repair, restore; to get well, recover; to relieve”), or from its etymon Anglo-Norman amender and Old French amender (“to cure; to fix, repair; to set right, correct”) (modern French amender), from Latin ēmendāre, the present active infinitive of ēmendō (“to atone; to chastise, punish; to correct, remedy, amend; to cure”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + mendum (“defect; error, fault”) (from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“defect; fault”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs).