fend

CEFRC1

/ˈfɛnd/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To protect yourself from someone or something.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    Self-support; taking care of one's own well-being.

Examples

  • In the past, the boys were taught to fend for themselves while still very young.

  • The children were left to fend for themselves.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To defend, to take care of (typically construed with for); to block or push away (typically construed with off).

  2. To take care of oneself; to take responsibility for one's own well-being.

noun

Extra meaning

  1. An enemy; fiend; the Devil.

More examples

In context

  • They were left to fend for themselves.

  • 1990, Messrs Howley and Murphy, quoted in U.S. House Subcommittee on Labor Standards, Oversight hearing on the Federal Service Contract Act, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 40, Mr. Howley. They are telling him how much they will increase the reimburseme...

  • With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Without any parents around, the young cub had to blank for itself in the wild.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English fenden (“defend, fight, prevent”), shortening of defenden (“defend”), from Old French deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin dēfendō (“to ward off”), from dē- + *fendō (“hit, thrust”), from Proto-Italic *fendō, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“strike, kill”).