mend

See also: mënd

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛnd/
• 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

• Finnish: paikka (fi)
• Portuguese: remendo (pt) m

• Russian: заши́тая ‎(zašítaja) ды́рка (ru) ‎(dýrka)
• Spanish: remiendo (es) m

act of repairing

• Portuguese: conserto (pt) m, reparo (pt) m
• Russian: почи́нка (ru) f ‎(počínka)

• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

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

• least said, soonest mended
• mend one's pace

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:repair

Translations

to repair

• Albanian: arnoj (sq)
• Arabic: أَصْلَحَ ‎(ʾaṣlaḥa)
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: opravit (cs), spravit (cs)
• 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 (it)
• 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)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: درست کردن (fa) ‎(dorost kardan)
• Portuguese: consertar (pt), reparar (pt)
• Romanian: repara (ro), drege (ro)
• Russian: исправля́ть (ru) impf ‎(ispravljátʹ), испра́вить (ru) pf ‎(isprávitʹ), чини́ть (ru) impf ‎(činítʹ), почини́ть (ru) pf ‎(počinítʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: càirich
• Spanish: remendar (es), emendar, reparar (es)
• Swedish: reparera (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: onarmak (tr), tamir etmek (tr)
• Urdu: ٹھیک کرنا ‎(ṭhīk karnā)

to repair a tear in clothing

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

• Italian: rammendare
• Portuguese: remendar (pt)
• Russian: зашивать (ru) ‎(zašivatʹ), заштопывать (ru) ‎(zaštopyvatʹ)
• Spanish: remendar (es)

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

• Danish: forbedre (da)
• 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: улучша́ться (ru) ‎(ulučšátʹsja)

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: ^{(please verify)} לאחות ‎(l'ɑḥot), ^{(please verify)} לתקן ‎(l'tɑken), ^{(please verify)} לשפר ‎(l'shɑper)

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} r'graie (Jersey), ^{(please verify)} racc'moder (Jersey)

Related terms

• amend

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