I. ˈmend verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English menden, short for amenden — more at amend
transitive verb
1.
a.
(1) : to improve in manners or morals : reform
dear to their tender bosoms … is a bad man they are mending — George Meredith
too late to mend the nation — V.J.Ryan
— usually used in the phrases mend one's ways
he could be counseled to mend his ways — Ralph Linton
and mend one's manners
young man, you had better mend your manners
(2) : to remove or eliminate the defects of : set right : correct
mend a corrupt text
(3) : to make right, improve, or remedy (a condition or state of affairs) : rectify
think I can do something to mend all this — William Black
an attempt was made to mend matters by a law — C.L.Jones
(4) : to improve or strengthen or consolidate by negotiation, maneuvering, or similar activity — used chiefly in the phrase mend one's fences
spends the weekend mending political fences — E.O.Hauser
went through Europe mending fences with assiduous alacrity — John Gunther
b.
(1) : to put into good shape or working order again : patch up : repair
used to come in and mend our car — Michael Davie
the roads were never mended — Ellen Glasgow
mend a torn sleeve
(2) : to put in better order : readjust — now used chiefly in the phrase mend sail
(3) : to remove slack between a fishing rod tip and fly by flipping (the line) up-current so that the fly is not dragged downstream
c. : to restore to health : cure
before the bone was fully mended — Current Biography
learned to mend his soul by going to sea — John Erskine †1951
no sleep but one can mend him — Herbert Gold
d.
(1) : to improve the condition or quality of : make better ameliorate
the standards of marriage must be mended — F.S.Mitchell
men who needed to mend their fortunes — T.B.Costain
(2) obsolete : to improve or better by adding to or increasing (as wages)
(3) dialect : to make up or add fuel to (a fire)
(4) obsolete : to supply the deficiency or loss of : supplement
(5) : to make more rapid : quicken — usually used in the phrase mend one's pace
mended his pace with suitable haste — Stephen Crane
2. : to make amends or atonement for : atone for — now used only in the proverb least said, soonest mended
intransitive verb
1. : to improve morally : reform — now used chiefly in the proverb it's never too late to mend
2. : to grow better : become corrected or improved
her troubles were beginning to mend — Ellen Glasgow
depression and lack of spirit mended visibly — Arnold Nicholson
3.
a. : to improve in health : get well
if he mends in time to play again — Rogers Whitaker
after that I began to mend — Corra Harris
b. : heal
waited for his injury to mend — American Guide Series: Tennessee
4. chiefly dialect : to rise or gain in price, weight, or other respect : increase
Synonyms:
repair , patch , rebuild , remodel : mend , often applying to any freeing from faults or defects, usually suggests a making of something whole or sound that has been broken, torn, or injured
mend a sock
mend a worn shoe sole
mend one's ways
mend a broken marriage
repair , similar to mend and often interchangeable with it in the sense of to make whole or sound, more commonly applies to more complex things or to a more extensive damage or dilapidation
repair a ripped coat
repair a broken bicycle
the fault which must be repaired swiftly — S.L.A.Marshall
repaired the irregularities of his teeth — John Buchan
constantly repairing an old run-down house
patch , often patch up, implies a mending of a hole, rent, or weak spot by the application of a patch but can extend to cover several ideas suggestive of this, as (in the form patch up ) to mend or repair temporarily in an obvious, hurried, careless, or clumsy way, or to fix something up expediently
patch a punctured tire
patch a road with asphalt
patch up a hole in the roof
each community might make a list of its strong and weak points and go to work to patch up the latter — Chester Bowles
patch up a damaged ship in order to make port
patch up an excuse
rebuild in this comparison has a currency in industry and business to imply a more thoroughgoing repair than usual, suggesting an almost complete renewing
rebuild old typewriters
shoe rebuilding
remodel implies repairing with alterations, often extensive, in the structure or design
forced the owners of 6000 houses and apartment buildings to repair or remodel — Time
the house was enlarged and it has been subsequently remodeled and modernized — American Guide Series: North Carolina
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from menden, v.
1. mends plural but usually singular in construction , chiefly dialect Britain
a. : compensation or atonement for a wrong, injury, or loss : amends
b. : improvement , cure
2. mends plural , obsolete : means of getting reparation : remedy
3.
a. : an act of mending : repair
b. : a mended place
•
- on the mend