mend

Plural: mends

Noun

sewing that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment)
- "her stockings had several mends"
the act of putting something in working order again
Senses relating to improvement or repairing.
An act of repairing.
Senses relating to improvement or repairing.
A place in a thing (such as a tear in clothing) which has been repaired.
Senses relating to improvement or repairing.
Chiefly in on the mend: improvement in health; recovery from illness.
Recompense; restoration or reparation, especially (Christianity) from sin.

Verb

Verb Forms: mended, mending, mends

To repair something that is broken or damaged; to improve.
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
heal or recover
- "My broken leg is mending"
To physically repair (something that is broken, defaced, decayed, torn, or otherwise damaged).
To add fuel to (a fire).
To correct or put right (an error, a fault, etc.); to rectify, to remedy.
To put (something) in a better state; to ameliorate, to improve, to reform, to set right.
To remove fault or sin from (someone, or their behaviour or character); to improve morally, to reform.
In mend one's pace: to adjust (a pace or speed), especially to match that of someone or something else; also, to quicken or speed up (a pace).
To correct or put right the defects, errors, or faults of (something); to amend, to emend, to fix.
To increase the quality of (someone or something); to better, to improve on; also, to produce something better than (something else).
To make amends or reparation for (a wrong done); to atone.
To restore (someone or something) to a healthy state; to cure, to heal.
To adjust or correctly position (something; specifically (nautical), a sail).
To put out (a candle).
To add one or more things in order to improve (something, especially wages); to supplement; also, to remedy a shortfall in (something).
To relieve (distress); to alleviate, to ease.
To reform (oneself).
To improve the condition or fortune of (oneself or someone).
To repair the clothes of (someone).
To cause (a person or animal) to gain weight; to fatten.
Chiefly with the impersonal pronoun it: to provide a benefit to (someone); to advantage, to profit.
Of an illness: to become less severe; also, of an injury or wound, or an injured body part: to get better, to heal.
Of a person: to become healthy again; to recover from illness.
Now only in least said, soonest mended: to make amends or reparation.
To become morally improved or reformed.
Chiefly used together with make: to make repairs.
To advance to a better state; to become less bad or faulty; to improve.
To improve in amount or price.
Of an error, fault, etc.: to be corrected or put right.
Followed by of: to recover from a bad state; to get better, to grow out of.
Of an animal: to gain weight, to fatten.
To advantage, to avail, to help.

Examples

After a disastrous play, he worked hard to MEND his score with smarter words.
Her stutter was mended by a speech therapist.
My broken heart was mended.
My trousers have a big rip in them and need a mend.
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.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*h₁eǵʰs
From Middle English menden (“to cure; to do good to, benefit; to do or make better, improve; to get better, recover; to keep in a good state; to put right, amend; to reform, repent”), the aphetic form of amenden (“to alter, change (especially for the better); to atone; to chastise, punish; to correct, remedy, amend; to cure; to excel, surpass; to forgive; to get or make better, improve; to make ready; to mend, repair, restore; to get well, recover; to relieve”), or from its etymon Anglo-Norman amender and Old French amender (“to cure; to fix, repair; to set right, correct”) (modern French amender), from Latin ēmendāre, the present active infinitive of ēmendō (“to atone; to chastise, punish; to correct, remedy, amend; to cure”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + mendum (“defect; error, fault”) (from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“defect; fault”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs).

Synonyms

bushel, darn, doctor, fix, fixing, fixture, furbish up, heal, mending, patch, repair, reparation, restore, touch on, amend, correct, fix up, kludge, make good, make whole, mend, mends, put to rights, rectify, reform, remediate, remedy, renew, renovate, restrive, revamp, set straight

Antonyms

break

Scrabble Score: 7

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

Words With Friends Score: 9

mend: valid Words With Friends Word