I. bend 1 S3 W3 /bend/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle bent /bent/)
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: bendan ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to move part of your body so that it is not straight or so that you are not upright:
Lee bent and kissed her.
She bent her head.
Bend your knees, but keep your back straight.
bend over
Emma bent over to pick up the coins.
bend down
I bent down to lift the box off the floor.
bend towards/across etc
He bent towards me and whispered in my ear.
2 . [transitive] to push or press something so that it is no longer flat or straight:
You need a special tool to bend the steel.
3 . [intransitive] to become curved and no longer flat or straight:
Several branches started bending towards the ground.
4 . [intransitive] when a road bends, it changes direction to form a curve:
The road bends sharply to the left.
5 . bend the truth to say something that is not completely true
6 . bend over backwards (to do something) to try very hard to be helpful:
We bent over backwards to finish it on time.
7 . bend sb’s ear spoken to talk to someone, especially for a long time, about something that is worrying you
8 . on bended knee
a) trying very hard to persuade someone to do something:
He begged on bended knee for another chance.
b) in a kneeling position:
He went down on bended knee and asked her to marry him.
9 . bend your mind/efforts to something formal to give all your energy or attention to one activity, plan etc
10 . bend to sb’s will formal to do what someone else wants, especially when you do not want to
⇨ bend the rules at ↑ rule 1 (1)
II. bend 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . a curved part of something, especially a road or river:
The car came round the bend at a terrifying speed.
bend in
a sharp bend in the road
2 . an action in which you bend a part of your body:
We started the session with a few knee bends to warm up.
3 . drive somebody round the bend British English spoken to annoy someone:
His attitude drives me round the bend.
4 . be/go round the bend British English spoken to be or become crazy:
I sometimes feel I’m going round the bend looking after young children all day.
5 . the bends a painful and serious condition that ↑ diver s get if they come up from deep water too quickly
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a sharp/tight bend (=a curve that changes direction suddenly)
That road sign means you are approaching a sharp bend.
▪ a hairpin bend (=a very sharp bend in which a road changes direction, usually on a mountain)
The road wound up the mountain in a series of hairpin bends.
▪ a slight/gentle/wide bend (=that changes direction slightly or gradually)
Ahead of us there was a wide bend in the river.
▪ a blind bend (=that you cannot see around when you are driving)
Never overtake another car on a blind bend.
▪ a left-hand/right-hand bend (=going towards the left or the right)
Take the turning just after the left-hand bend in the road.
■ verbs
▪ come around/round the bend
Suddenly a motorbike came around the bend at top speed.
▪ round the bend
He rounded the bend much too fast.