mend

English

Etymology

From Middle English menden, by apheresis for amenden (“to amend”); see amend.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛnd

Noun

mend (plural mends)

1. A place, as in clothing, which has been repaired by mending.
2. The act of repairing.

   My trousers have a big rip in them and need a mend.

Derived terms

• on the mend

Translations

place or tear repaired in clothing

• Portuguese: remendo (pt) m

• Russian: зашитая (zašitaja) дырка (ru) (dyrka)

act of repairing

• Portuguese: conserto (pt) m, reparo (pt) m

• Russian: починка (ru) f (počinka)

Verb

mend (third-person singular simple present mends, present participle mending, simple past and past participle mended)

1. To repair, as anything that is torn, broken, defaced, decayed, or the like; to restore from partial decay, injury, or defacement; to patch up; to put in shape or order again; to re-create; as, to mend a garment or a machine.

   My trousers have a big rip in them and need mending.

   When your car breaks down, you can take it to the garage to have it mended.

2. To alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken; as, to mend one's manners or pace.

   Her stutter was mended by a speech therapist.

   My broken heart was mended.

   • Sir W. Temple

     The best service they could do the state was to mend the lives of the persons who composed it.

3. To help, to advance, to further; to add to.
   • Mortimer

     Though in some lands the grass is but short, yet it mends garden herbs and fruit.

   • Shakespeare

     You mend the jewel by wearing it.

4. To grow better; to advance to a better state; to become improved.

Derived terms

• mend one's pace

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:repair

Translations

to repair

• Albanian: arnoj (sq)
• Arabic: أصلح ('áSlaHa)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 修補, 修补 (zh) (xiūbǔ), 修改 (zh) (xiūgǎi), 修理 (zh) (xiūlǐ)

• Czech: opravit, spravit
• Danish: reparere (da), (informally) fikse
• Dutch: repareren (nl), herstellen (nl)
• Finnish: kunnostaa (fi), korjata (fi), kohentaa (fi), parantaa (fi)
• French: réparer (fr)
• German: reparieren (de), flicken (de)
• Greek: επισκευάζω (el) (episkevázo)
• Hindi: ठीक करना (ṭhīk karnā)
• Hungarian: megjavít (hu)

• Irish: deisigh, ceartaigh
• Italian: riparare
• Japanese: 直す (ja) (なおす, naosu), 修理する (ja) (しゅりする, shuri-suru)
• Korean: 수리하다 (ko) (suri-hada)
• Persian: درست کردن (fa) (dorost kardan)
• Portuguese: consertar (pt), reparar (pt)
• Romanian: repara (ro), drege (ro)
• Russian: исправлять (ru) impf (ispravlját’), исправить (ru) pf (isprávit'), чинить (ru) impf (činít’), починить (ru) pf (počinít’)
• Scottish Gaelic: càirich
• Spanish: remendar
• Swedish: reparera (sv)
• Turkish: onarmak (tr), tamir etmek (tr)
• Urdu: ٹھیک کرنا (ṭhīk karnā)

to repair a tear in clothing

• Danish: lappe
• French: rapiécer (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can

• Portuguese: remendar (pt)
• Russian: зашивать (ru) (zašivatʹ), заштопывать (ru) (zaštopyvatʹ)

to alter for the better; to set right; to reform; hence, to quicken

• Danish: forbedre
• Dutch: verbeteren (nl), herstellen (nl)

• Finnish: korjata (fi)

To help, to advance, to further; to add to

• Finnish: parantaa (fi)

to grow better; to advance to a better state; to become improved

• Finnish: parantua (fi)
• Portuguese: melhorar (pt)

• Russian: улучшаться (ru) (ulučšatʹsja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hebrew: לאחות (l'ɑḥot), לתקן (l'tɑken), לשפר (l'shɑper)

• Jèrriais: r'graie, racc'moder

Related terms

• amend
• mend

External links

• mend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• mend in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• mend at OneLook Dictionary Search