mending

[ men-ding ]

/ ˈmɛn dɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mending ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of a person or thing that mends.

articles, especially clothes, to be mended: Grandmother always kept her mending in this wicker basket.

Origin of mending

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at mend, -ing¹

Words nearby mending

menderes, mendes, mendicancy, mendicant, mendicity, mending, mendips, mendocino, mendota, mendoza, mendès-france

Definition for mending (2 of 2)

mend

[ mend ]

/ mɛnd /

verb (used with object)

to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing: to mend old clothes; to mend a broken toy.

to remove or correct defects or errors in.

to set right; make better; improve: to mend matters.

verb (used without object)

to progress toward recovery, as a sick person.

(of broken bones) to grow back together; knit.

to improve, as conditions or affairs.

noun

the act of mending; repair or improvement.

a mended place.

Origin of mend

1150–1200; Middle English menden, aphetic variant of amend

SYNONYMS FOR mend

1 fix, restore, retouch. Mend, darn, patch mean to repair something and thus renew its usefulness. Mend is a general expression that emphasizes the idea of making whole something damaged: to mend a broken dish, a tear in an apron. Darn and patch are more specific, referring particularly to repairing holes or tears. To darn is to repair by means of stitches interwoven with one another: to darn stockings. To patch is to cover a hole or tear, usually with a piece or pieces of similar material and to secure the edges of these; it implies a more temporary or makeshift repair than the others: to patch the knees of trousers, a rubber tire.

2 rectify, amend, emend.

3 ameliorate, meliorate.

4 heal, recover, amend.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR mend ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR mend

1 ruin, destroy,

4 die, sicken.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR mend ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM mend

mend·a·ble, adjective re·mend, verb un·mend·a·ble, adjective un·mend·ed, adjective

well-mend·ed, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for mending

So, he decided to give the church a chance, if not just for the sake of mending his relationship with his mother.

Beaten By His Church for Being Gay |Justin Jones |December 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
For years, Schmidt lived in poverty, eating beans and mending his clothes with flour sacks.

The Mole Man’s Tunnel to Nowhere |Nina Strochlic |November 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
London may as well also require that cabbies master the art of saddling a horse and mending a harness.

As Europe Now Sees, Resisting Uber Is Futile |Jim Epstein |June 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It is coming together now, mending, he sees it in paragraphs, is almost afraid to sleep for losing the connections.

Pete Dexter’s Indelible Portrait of Author Norman Maclean |Pete Dexter |March 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

One recent survey showed a clear majority believed that neither party was capable of mending “Broken Britain.”

David Cameron’s Holiday Boost |William Underhill |September 2, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Mrs. Lewis sewed, that afternoon, on his jacket, mending it up more neatly than ever before.

Tip Lewis and His Lamp |Pansy
Gilray used to boast of a way of mending a hole in a tobacco-pouch that was better than sewing.

My Lady Nicotine |J. M. Barrie
I can't sew a stitch on account of my eyes, so you'll have to see to the making and mending of their clothes.

Anne Of Avonlea |Lucy Maud Montgomery
The same fate overtook a man who fell out of his boat when mending the ferry cable.

Across the Prairie in a Motor Caravan |Frances Halton Eva Hasell
Her patient is mending, and none besides in the house is sick.

The Sign Of The Red Cross |Evelyn Everett-Green

British Dictionary definitions for mending (1 of 2)

mending

/ (ˈmɛndɪŋ) /

noun

something to be mended, esp clothes

British Dictionary definitions for mending (2 of 2)

mend

/ (mɛnd) /

verb

(tr) to repair (something broken or unserviceable)

to improve or undergo improvement; reform (often in the phrase mend one's ways)

(intr) to heal or recover

(intr) (of conditions) to improve; become better

(tr) Northern English to feed or stir (a fire)

noun

the act of repairing

a mended area, esp on a garment

on the mend becoming better, esp in health

Derived forms of mend

mendable, adjective mender, noun

Word Origin for mend

C12: shortened from amend

Idioms and Phrases with mending

mend

In addition to the idioms beginning with mend

mend one's fences
mend one's ways

also see:

on the mend

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

mending

noun

Origin of mending

Words nearby mending

Definition for mending (2 of 2)

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of mend

SYNONYMS FOR mend

ANTONYMS FOR mend

OTHER WORDS FROM mend

Example sentences from the Web for mending

British Dictionary definitions for mending (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for mending (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of mend

Word Origin for mend

Idioms and Phrases with mending

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

mending

noun

Origin of mending

Words nearby mending

Definition for mending (2 of 2)

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of mend

SYNONYMS FOR mend

ANTONYMS FOR mend

OTHER WORDS FROM mend

Words related to mending

Example sentences from the Web for mending

British Dictionary definitions for mending (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for mending (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of mend

Word Origin for mend

Idioms and Phrases with mending