I. mend 1 /mend/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Origin: amend ]
1 . REPAIR [transitive]
a) to repair a tear or hole in a piece of clothing:
My father used to mend our shoes.
b) British English to repair something that is broken or not working SYN fix :
When are you going to mend that light in the hall?
Tim can mend any broken toy.
2 . BECOME HEALTHY [intransitive] informal if a broken bone mends, it becomes whole again SYN heal :
His leg isn’t mending as quickly as he’d expected.
3 . mend your ways to improve the way you behave after behaving badly for a long time:
If he doesn’t mend his ways, he’ll be asked to leave.
4 . mend (your) fences to try to become friendly with someone again after you have offended them or argued with them:
Is it too late to mend fences with your ex-wife?
5 . END A QUARREL [transitive] to end a quarrel or difficult situation by dealing with the problem that is causing it SYN repair :
I’ve tried to mend matters between us, but she’s still very angry.
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THESAURUS
▪ repair to do some work on something that is damaged or not working properly, so that it is in good condition again:
The builders are coming to repair the roof.
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Have you had the washing machine repaired yet?
▪ fix especially American English to repair something:
I’m taking the car in to get it fixed.
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The chain on the bike needs fixing.
▪ mend especially British English to repair something that is damaged, torn, or not working:
I’ve found someone who’ll mend the fence.
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Can you mend this sweater for me?
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Fishermen sat mending their nets in the sunshine.
▪ service to check a vehicle or machine and repair it if necessary, especially regularly:
You should have your car serviced every six months.
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When was the last time we had the gas boiler serviced?
▪ renovate to repair an old building so that it looks in good condition again:
They bought an old house and renovated it themselves.
▪ restore to repair something old and valuable, especially a building, piece of furniture, painting etc, so that it looks the same as it did originally:
Many paintings were damaged in the fire but have now been restored.
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The hotel was restored to its original Victorian splendour in 1984.
▪ do up British English informal , fix up American English informal to repair an old building or vehicle, so that it looks in good condition again:
He does up old cars and sells them.
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A builder bought the house and fixed it up.
▪ patch something up to quickly repair something that has a hole in it, by putting a piece of material on it, especially temporarily:
They patched up the wall with bits of cement.
▪ darn to repair holes in clothes:
Are you any good at darning socks?
II. mend 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . be on the mend to be getting better after an illness or after a difficult period SYN be recovering :
He’s had flu, but he’s on the mend.
signs that the economy is on the mend
2 . a place in something where it has been repaired