I. ten ‧ der 1 /ˈtendə $ -ər/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: tendre , from Latin tener 'soft, young' ]
1 . FOOD tender food is easy to cut and eat, especially because it has been well cooked OPP tough :
Continue cooking until the meat is tender.
2 . PART OF YOUR BODY a part of your body that is tender is painful if someone touches it:
My arm is still tender where I bruised it.
3 . GENTLE gentle and careful in a way that shows love:
Her voice was tender and soft.
a slow, tender kiss
4 . EASILY DAMAGED easily damaged – used especially about plants or flowers:
tender plants that were killed by the harsh winter
5 . tender loving care usually spoken sympathetic treatment and a lot of attention SYN TLC
6 . tender age the time when you are young or do not have much experience
at the tender age of something
Nicholas was sent to boarding school at the tender age of seven.
—tenderly adverb
—tenderness noun [uncountable]
II. tender 2 BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: tendre 'to hold out, offer' , from Latin tendere ; ⇨ ↑ tend ]
1 . [transitive] formal to formally offer or show something to someone:
As company secretary, you must tender the proposal.
tender something to somebody
The seller has the right to keep the goods until payment is tendered to him.
Minton tendered her resignation on Friday.
2 . [intransitive] British English to make a formal offer to do a job or provide goods or services for a particular price SYN bid American English
tender for
We are unable to tender competitively for the contract.
III. tender 3 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1: Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: tender ]
[ Sense 2-3: Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ tend ]
1 . especially British English a formal statement of the price you would charge for doing a job or providing goods or services SYN bid American English :
Our bid was the lowest tender.
put something out to tender British English (=to ask different companies to say how much they will charge for doing a particular job)
The contract for building the houses will be put out to tender.
2 . a small boat that takes people or supplies between the shore and a larger boat
3 . part of a steam train used for carrying coal and water for the train
⇨ ↑ bartender , ↑ legal tender