friend

Plural: friends

Noun

• a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
  • "he was my best friend at the university"
• an associate who provides cooperation or assistance
• a person with whom you are acquainted
  • "we are friends of the family"
• a person who backs a politician or a team etc.
  • "they are friends of the library"
• a member of the Religious Society of Friends founded by George Fox (the Friends have never called themselves Quakers)
• A person, typically someone other than a family member, spouse or lover, whose company one enjoys and towards whom one feels affection.
• An associate who provides assistance; patron, mentor.
• A person with whom one is vaguely or indirectly acquainted.
• A person who backs or supports something.
• An object or idea that can be used for good.
• Used as a form of address when warning someone.
• A function or class granted special access to the private and protected members of another class.
• A spring-loaded camming device.
• A lover; a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• A relative, a relation by blood or marriage.
• Used to refer collectively to a group of associated individuals, especially those comprising a cast, company, or crew

Verb

Verb Forms: friended, friending, friends

• To become friends with; to enter into a warm association.
• To act as a friend to, to befriend; to be friendly to, to help.
• To add (a person) to a list of friends on a social networking site; to officially designate (someone) as a friend.

Examples

• a friend of a friend
• Fruit is your friend.
• He tried to friend his Words With Friends opponent to see their profile, but they declined.
• I added him as a friend on Facebook, but I hardly know him.
• I’m not a friend of cheap wine.
• John and I have been friends ever since we were roommates at college. Trust is important between friends. I used to find it hard to make friends when I was shy.
• The Automobile Association is every motorist's friend. The police is every law-abiding citizen's friend.
• We became friends in the war and remain friends to this day. We were friends with some girls from the other school and stayed friends with them.
• You’d better watch it, friend.

Synonyms

acquaintance, admirer, ally, booster, champion, protagonist, Quaker, supporter, babber, billy, bredrin, bruv, bud, buddo, buddy, buster, butty, chaver, china, chuck, chum, cobber, cock, cocker, compadre, companion, company, comrade, contact, cove, crony, dawg, duck, dude, et al., fam, fettler, friend, geez, geezer, gink, good old boy, homeskillet, homie, kith, lover, marrow, mate, matey, mucker, old bean, pal, pardner, peeps, shag, sonny, sport, surry, tovarish, wantok

Antonyms

foe, stranger, asshole, bitchy-pants, creep, defriend, enemy, false friend, fiend, horse's ass, jerk, nemesis, pill, pisspot, schmuck, scuzz, scuzzball, stinker, unfriend, wretch

Related Words

acquaintance, ally, associate, bedfellow, bedmate, childhood friend, classmate, co-worker, compatriot, fair-weather friend, family friend, fellow traveller, flatmate, frenemy, friend of a friend, goombah, hail fellow well met, housemate, mouth-friend, neighbor, neighbour, old friend, partner in crime, playfellow, playmate, roomie, roommate, schoolmate, sweetheart