Definition of BLEND

blend

Plural: blends

Noun

  • an occurrence of thorough mixing
  • a new word formed by joining two others and combining their meanings
    • "`smog' is a blend of `smoke' and `fog'"
  • the act of blending components together thoroughly
  • A mixture of two or more things.
  • A word formed by combining two other words; a grammatical contamination, portmanteau word.

Verb

Verb Forms: blended, blent, blending, blends

  • To mix two or more things smoothly and inseparably together.
  • combine into one
    • "blend the nuts and raisins together"
    • "he blends in with the crowd"
  • blend or harmonize
    • "This flavor will blend with those in your dish"
  • mix together different elements
    • "The colors blend well"
  • To mingle; to mix; to unite intimately; to pass or shade insensibly into each other.
  • To be mingled or mixed.
  • To pollute by mixture or association; to spoil or corrupt; to blot; to stain.

Examples

  • A good Scrabble player can BLEND common letters with rare ones to form high-scoring words.
  • Our department has a good blend of experienced workers and young promise.
  • Their music has been described as a blend of jazz and heavy metal.
  • To make hummus you need to blend chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English blenden, either from Old English blandan, blondan, ġeblandan, ġeblendan or from Old Norse blanda (“to blend, mix”) (which was originally a strong verb with the present-tense stem blend; compare blendingr (“a blending, a mixture; a half-breed”)), whence also Danish blande, or from a blend of the Old English and Old Norse terms; both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *blandaną (“to blend; mix; combine”). Compare Middle Dutch blanden (“to mix”), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽 (blandan), Old Church Slavonic блєсти (blesti, “to go astray”).

Scrabble Score: 8

blend: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
blend: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
blend: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

blend: valid Words With Friends Word