bend

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verb

1. To swerve from a straight line: angle, arc, arch, bow, crook, curve, round, turn. See straight/bent.
2. To cause to move, especially at an angle: angle, deflect, refract, turn. See straight/bent.
3. To incline the body: arch, bow, hump, hunch, scrunch, stoop. See posture.
4. To be unable to hold up: give. See help/harm/harmless.
5. To devote (oneself or one's efforts): address, apply, buckle down, concentrate, dedicate, devote, direct, focus, give, turn. See collect/distribute, work/play.

noun

Something bent: bow, crook, curvature, curve, round, turn. See straight/bent.

Idioms beginning with bend:
bend someone's ear

See also around the bend; crook (bend) one's elbow; on bended knee. Also see under bent.

n

Definition: curve
Antonyms: line

v

Definition: form or cause a curve
Antonyms: straighten

v. attach (a sail or rope) by means of a knot: sailors were bending sails to the spars.

n. (the bends)

decompression sickness, especially in divers.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: To curve or cause a change of shape.

Try to bend this wire into a spiral shape.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: One hand bends the fingers of the other hand foreward.

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i. A condition of pain in the extremities and joints resulting from nitrogen bubbles forming in the blood, tissues, and joints following reduced atmospheric pressure. See aeroembolism and decompression sickness.
ii. VOR (very high frequency omnidirectional radio range) bearing error because of the distortion of propagation over uneven terrain. Also called scalloping.

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verb trans
verb trans

1: To use for a wrongful or crooked purpose; to steal; to lose (a contest, etc.) deliberately. (1864 —) .
Observer There are honest landladies in districts like Victoria who let a flat to someone they think is an ordinary girl, who then proceeds to 'bend' it: uses it for prostitution (1958). noun

2: on the (or a) bend on a (drinking) spree. (1887 —) .
L. A. G. Strong Been on the bend, 'aven't you? (1936).

3: round the bend crazy, insane. (1929 —) .
J. I. M. Stewart Right round the bend...I mean...as mad as a hatter (1955). See also to catch (someone) bending at catch verb.

[In sense 1, revival of an earlier sense 'to pervert from the right purpose or use'.]

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Decompression sickness; a condition resulting from a too-rapid decrease in atmospheric pressure, as when a deep-sea diver is brought too hastily to the surface. The term bends is derived from the bodily contortions its victims undergo when atmospheric pressure is abruptly changed from a high pressure to a relatively lower one. A form of altitude sickness suffered by aviators who ascend too rapidly to high altitudes is similar to bends. Bends may also be a complication in a type of oxygen therapy called hyperbaric oxygenation, in which the patient is placed in a high-pressure chamber to increase the oxygen content of its blood. Likely to be an uncommon diagnosis in animals.

For a list of words related to bend, see:

• Inland Waterways and Lakes - bend: curve in flowing waterway
• Other hardware and supplies
• Knots - bend: any loop or knot for joining end of one rope to another rope or to some other object, esp. nautical
• Seamanship and Port - bend: any loop or knot for joining end of one rope to another rope or to some other object
• Fishing Equipment and Tackle - bend: crook in fishhook, often ending at barb
• Falsehood, Pretense, and Exaggeration - bend: (vb) distort to one’s own ends

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See words rhyming with "bend."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Bend.

Dansk (Danish)
1.
v. tr. - bukke, bøje
v. intr. - bøje forover, bøje
n. - sving, kurve

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    rette opmærksomheden imod, stille skarpt på
• bend one's steps to    begive sig imod
• bend over backwards    bøje sig bagover
• bend someone's ear    snakke længe med
• bend the rules    bøje reglerne, strække reglerne

2.
n. - bue, knæk

idioms:

• send round the bend    gøre kugleskør

Nederlands (Dutch)
bocht, kromming, boog, (mv) caissonziekte, buigen, bukken, knikken, spannen, plooien, concentreren, effect geven aan, vastknopen

Français (French)
1.
v. tr. - courber, plier, fléchir, baisser (la tête), pencher, faire ployer (une branche), réfracter, tordre, courber (un rail, etc), bander (un arc), (Naut) étalinguer, enverguer (une voile), (fig) faire une entorse à, se diriger vers, porter ses pas vers, être résolu à, être décidé à
v. intr. - être courbé/plié, se courber, faire un coude, tourner (une route), (fig) se soumettre, céder à, ployer, se pencher
n. - tournant, courbe, coude (d'une rivière), pli (du bras), saignée, virage, (Naut) n¯ud de jonction, (Méd) maladie des caissons (npl)

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    se concentrer sur
• bend one's steps to    se diriger vers
• bend over backwards    se mettre en quatre
• bend someone's ear    accaparer l'attention de qn
• bend the rules    outrepasser les règles
• round the bend    fou (fam)

2.
n. - (Hérald) bande diagonale (sur un bouclier)

Deutsch (German)
1.
v. - biegen, verbiegen, verkrümmen, sich biegen, eine Kurve machen, sich verziehen, sich verkrümmen, sich bücken, knicken
n. - Kurve, Biegung, Krümmung

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    sich widmen, sich zuwenden, sich konzentrieren auf
• bend one's steps to    sich auf den Weg machen nach
• bend over backwards    sich zerreißen
• bend someone's ear    sich umhören
• bend the rules    ein Auge zudrücken

2.
n. - Schrägbalken, (naut) Knoten

idioms:

• send round the bend    (Ugs.) jd. spinnt, verrückt sein

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κάμπτω/-ομαι, λυγίζω, υποτάσσομαι, υποχωρώ, καθοδηγώ, κατευθύνω, στρίβω, γέρνω, σκύβω, διαμορφώνω, φέρνω στα μέτρα μου, (ναυτ.) δένω
n. - καμπή, στροφή (δρόμου κ.λπ.), καμπύλη, κούρμπα (αγωγού κ.λπ.), (ναυτ.) κόμπος, σύναψη σκοινιών

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    εγκύπτω, δίνομαι ολόψυχα σε
• bend one's steps to    κατευθύνω το βήμα μου, κινούμαι προς
• bend over backwards    πασχίζω, σκίζομαι
• bend someone's ear    εισακούω
• bend the rules    κάνω τα στραβά μάτια, εφαρμόζω ελαστικά το νόμο
• send round the bend    τρελαίνω

Italiano (Italian)
piegare, curvare, chinarsi, piegarsi, deformare, deformarsi, attorcigliarsi, curva

idioms:

• bend one's ear    prestare attenzione
• bend one's mind to    concentrarsi su
• bend one's steps to    dirigere i propri passi verso

Português (Portuguese)
v. - curvar, virar, dobrar
n. - curva (f), flexão (f), nó (m) para corda (Náut.)

idioms:

• bend one's steps to    caminhar em uma determinada direção
• bend over backwards    fazer o possível e o impossível para ajudar ou agradar alguém
• bend someone's ear    desabafar com alguém
• hairpin bend    curva (f) muito fechada
• round the bend    louco, maluco (coloq.)
• send round the bend    enlouquecer

Русский (Russian)
гнуть, сгибать, гнуться, сгибаться, поворачивать, иметь склонность

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    хорошо подумать как это сделать, направить ум
• bend one's steps to    направить стопы
• bend over backwards    наизнанку выворачиваться, лезть вон из кожи
• bend someone's ear    досаждать разговорами
• hairpin bend    крутой поворот
• round the bend    заехать/зайти за угол, спятить, слегка помешанный
• send round the bend    сводить кого-то с ума

Español (Spanish)
1.
v. tr. - doblar, acodar, arquear, combar, curvar, torcer, retorcer
v. intr. - doblarse, inclinarse, agacharse, someterse, desviarse, torcerse, combarse, encorvarse, retorcerse, curvarse
n. - curva, recodo, vuelta, inclinación, combadura, ángulo

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    concentrarse, aplicarse a un problema
• bend one's steps to    dirigir sus pasos hacia
• bend over backwards    hacer lo imposible por complacer a alguien
• bend someone's ear    fastidiar a alguien hablando con exceso
• bend the rules    apartarse un poco de las reglas

2.
n. - curva, recodo, vuelta, inclinación, combadura, ángulo

idioms:

• send round the bend    me enloquece

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - böja, kröka, vända
n. - böjning, böjd del, böj, krök, krok, kurva

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 使弯曲, 使屈服, 弯曲, 屈服, 弯, 曲, 转弯处

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    专心于, 致力于
• bend one's steps to    转向...走去, 转移...的方向, 使...转向...
• bend over backwards    拼命
• bend someone's ear    和某人谈重要的事
• bend the rules    任意歪曲篡改规则等

2. 俯, 弯腰, 行礼

idioms:

• send round the bend    发怒, 发狂, 歇斯底里发作

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. tr. - 使彎曲, 使屈服
v. intr. - 彎曲, 屈服
n. - 彎, 曲, 轉彎處

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    專心於, 致力於
• bend one's steps to    轉向...走去, 轉移...的方向, 使...轉向...
• bend over backwards    拼命
• bend someone's ear    和某人談重要的事
• bend the rules    任意歪曲篡改規則等

2.
n. - 俯, 彎腰, 行禮

idioms:

• send round the bend    發怒, 發狂, 歇斯底里發作

한국어 (Korean)
1.
v. tr. - ~을 구부리다, 돌리다
v. intr. - 구부러지다, 굴복하다
n. - 굽기, 인사

2.
n. - 마음의 경향

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 曲がり, 曲がった所, 体をかがめること, 潜水病, ロープの結び目, 屈曲
v. - 曲げる, 曲がる, 折り曲げる, かがむ, 向ける, 傾ける, 服従させる, 服従する, 屈服させる

idioms:

• bend one's mind to    苦心する
• bend one's steps to    歩を進める
• bend over backwards    あらゆる努力を払う
• bend someone's ear    いやになるほど話し掛ける
• bend the knee    嘆願する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) لوى, حنى, ثنى, عوج, أمال, وجه, أدار (الاسم) انحناء, انعطاف, التواء, انثناء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮כופף, כיוון, כפה, הפנה‬
v. intr. - ‮נטה, רכן, התכופף, נכנע, נע בקו לא ישר, סטה‬
n. - ‮פנייה, עיקום, סיבוב בכביש, חלק עקום‬
n. - ‮קשר מפרש, קשר-חבל‬

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