How do you use the word "fence" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "fence": A fence between makes love more keen. The school grounds extend as far as this fence.

Fence Meaning

/fɛns/

Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA thin artificial barrier that separates two pieces of land or forms a perimeter enclosing the lands of a house, building, etc.

nounSomeone who hides or buys and sells stolen goods, a criminal middleman for transactions of stolen goods.

Sentence Examples

A fence between makes love more keen.

The school grounds extend as far as this fence.

The two women chatted over the garden fence.

CEFR Practice Quiz

The farmer built a tall wooden ____ to keep deer out of the cornfield.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

They built a tall wooden ____ around the backyard to give them more privacy and keep the dog safe.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English fence, fens, short for defence, defens (“the act of defending”), from Old French defens, defense (see defence). The sense "enclosure" arises in the mid 15th century. Also from the 15th century is use as a verb in the sense "to enclose with a fence". The generalized sense "to defend, screen, protect" arises ca. 1500. The sense "to fight with swords (rapiers)" is from the 1590s (Shakespeare). Displaced native Old English heġe (compare Modern English hedge).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"There was a weak place in the fence separating the two inclosures" — 1865, Horatio Alger, chapter 17, in Paul Prescott's Charge:

"From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away." — 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

"The Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face." — 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:

"The Finn was a fence, a trafficker in stolen goods, primarily in software. In the course of this business, he sometimes came into contact with other fences, some of whom dealt in the more traditional articles of the trade." — 1984, William Gibson, Neuromancer (Sprawl; book 1), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN, page 73:

"I bruised my shin th' other day with playing at sword and dagger with a master of fence" — 1599, William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor:

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