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🔄 To make curved 🙇 To lean down 🌀 A curve 🛡️ A diagonal band
to bend

to bend

84 1.0
To lean forward at the waist
  • verb
  • /bɛnd/
: inclinarse
  • I had to bend my head in order to go through that door.
  • bend over backward

Kneel down, bend over, put on these cat ears.

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Examples

  • Bend your knees, bend your knees.

    Save the Last Dance (2001)

  • OK, all right, with your back to the moon, bend over and look at the moon upside down through your legs.

  • Stay behind, then bend down.

    Tabula Rasa (2018)

  • Also, I'm trying to bend down at an awful angle.

  • Why don't you bend over?

    Detroit Rock City (1999)

  • Clark, bend down.

    The Benchwarmers (2006)

  • Just like I trained you, huh?" She bent down, squinting at his clothing in the blackness.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • As Lainey was putting Sarah back into her carriage, David bent to help Randall into his chair.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Hair falling forward, blending with the flames, Christina bent to touch the cold fire.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I had to bend forward to pick up the coin from the ground.

Synonyms

to lean
vsto bend
590 1.5

To bend or rest at an angle against something

moves the upper part forward and down rather than tilting objects
to hunch
vsto bend
41 4.2

To bend forward and pull the shoulders in so the back rounds

moves the upper part forward and down rather than only pulling shoulders
to hunch over
vsto bend
24 4.2

Bend forward with rounded shoulders and back

moves the upper part forward and down without implying rounded shoulders
to stoop
vsto bend
17 2.6

To bend your body forward at the waist

moves only the upper part forward and down from the waist
to slant
vsto bend
12 3.7

To lean or tilt in one direction

moves the upper part forward and down rather than expressing a general slope
to incline
vsto bend
7 4.4

To bend your head or upper body as a sign of respect

moves the upper part forward and down rather than a brief head gesture
to hunch forward
vsto bend
3 4.4

Bend your upper body forward and round your shoulders, often when you feel cold or tired

moves the upper part forward and down rather than using the whole body
to clin
vsto bend
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To lean or bend in one direction, often slowly under extra weight

moves the upper part forward and down rather than tilting slowly from pressure

Antonyms

to stand
∞ 1.0

To be or put something in an upright position

Idioms

to bend over backwards
  • Informal
29 4.9

To try very hard to help someone or make them happy

to bend to someone's will
13 7.1

To do what someone else wants even if you do not want to

to bend someone's will
11 7.1

Persuade someone to do what you want

to bend someone's ear
  • Informal
5 7.9

Talk to someone for a long time about personal things and often annoy them

round the bend
  • Slur
5 8.2

A person who behaves very strangely or does not think clearly

to bend the truth
4 5.9

To say something that is not exactly what happened to make it look better

to bend your ear
  • Informal
3 7.9

To talk to someone for a long time in a way that annoys them

to go round the bend
  • UK
3 8.6

To become so angry or stressed that you cannot think clearly

to bend the knee
2 8.4

To show loyalty and obey a powerful person

around the bend
  • Offensive
1 9.3

To be very confused or act in a strange way

to bend my brain
  • Informal
1 8.8

To think very hard about something until you feel confused

to bend like a willow
  • Informal
6.9

To be flexible and change to deal with difficult situations

to bend one's elbow
  • UK
9.1

To drink alcohol with other people in a social place

Phrasal Verbs

to bend the rules
22 4.9

To allow an exception to a rule to help someone

Compounds

Big Bend
3 3.4

A region in the southwest of Texas shaped by a large bend in the Rio Grande

knee bend
2 3.3

An exercise where you bend your knees to lower and raise your body to make your leg muscles stronger

Big Bend National Park
1 3.9

A large national park in southwest Texas with mountains, desert, deep canyons, and many wild animals

hairpin bend
  • UK
1 3.7

A very sharp U-shaped turn on a steep mountain road

blind bend
  • UK
1 7.4

A curve in a road you cannot see around when driving

sheet bend
  • Jargon
1 8.4

A knot used to join one rope to another, even when they are different thicknesses

hawser bend
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A strong knot for joining the ends of two thick ropes

bend dexter
  • Specialized
9.9

A diagonal band on a shield running from the top right to the bottom left as seen by the bearer

bend sinister
  • Specialized
9.9

A diagonal band on a shield from top right to bottom left often marking a child born outside marriage

becket bend
  • Specialized
9.9

A knot that ties one rope to the middle of another rope or to a loop

carrick bend
  • Specialized
9.9

A strong knot used to join the ends of two large ropes often on ships

fisherman's bend
  • Specialized
8.8

A knot used to hold a rope to a ring or pole

How Bent

to prostrate
6 8.1
to stoop
17 2.6
to bend
84 1.0
to bow
158 1.7
to lean
590 1.5

Surface Forms

bend infinitive
bending present participle
bends third person singular
bent past
bent past participle

Etymology

Bend also once meant 'to bow' or 'to lean forward', so to bend your body is to lower or lean your upper body at the waist.