[mend] vb [ME, short for amenden--more at amend] vt (13c) 1: to free from faults or defects: as a: to improve in manners or morals: reform b: to set right: correct c: to put into good shape or working order again: patch up: repair d: to improve or strengthen (as a relationship) by negotiation or conciliation--used chiefly in the phrase mend fences "spends the weekend ~ing political fences --E. O. Hauser" e: to restore to health: cure
2: to make amends or atonement for "least said, soonest ~ed" ~ vi 1: to improve morally: reform
2: to become corrected or improved
3: to improve in health; also: heal -- mend.able adj -- mend.er n syn mend, repair, patch, rebuild mean to put into good order something that has been injured, damaged, or defective. mend implies making whole or sound something broken, torn, or injured "mended the torn dress". repair applies to the fixing of more extensive damage or dilapidation "repaired the back steps". patch implies an often temporary fixing of a hole or break with new material "patch worn jeans". rebuild suggests making like new without completely replacing "a rebuilt automobile engine".
[2]mend n (14c) 1: an act of mending: repair
2: a mended place -- on the mend : getting better: improving