fend

Plural: fends

Verb

Verb Forms: fended, fending, fends

To ward off; to manage or provide for oneself.
try to manage without help
- "The youngsters had to fend for themselves after their parents died"
withstand the force of something
- "The mountain climbers had to fend against the ice and snow"
To take care of oneself; to take responsibility for one's own well-being.
To defend, to take care of (typically construed with for); to block or push away (typically construed with off).

Noun

Self-support; taking care of one's own well-being.
An enemy; fiend; the Devil.

Examples

He had to FEND off his opponent’s strategic blocking with clever two-letter words.

Origin / Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

resist, stand

Scrabble Score: 8

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

Words With Friends Score: 9

fend: valid Words With Friends Word