tend
Pronunciation Verb

tend (tends, present participle tending; past and past participle tended)

  1. (legal, Old English law) To make a tender of; to offer or tender.
  2. (followed by a to-infinitive) To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain habit or leaning. [from the mid-14th c.]
    They tend to go out on Saturdays.
    It tends to snow here in winter.
  3. (intransitive) To contribute to or toward some outcome.
Related terms Translations Translations Verb

tend (tends, present participle tending; past and past participle tended)

  1. (with to) To look after (e.g. an ill person.) [from the early 14th c.]
    We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.
  2. To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.
    Shepherds tend their flocks.
    • There's not a sparrow or a wren, / There's not a blade of autumn grain, / Which the four seasons do not tend / And tides of life and increase lend.
  3. To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act II, scene i]:
      Was he not companion with the riotous knights / That tend upon my father?
  4. (obsolete) To await; to expect.
  5. (obsolete) To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.
    • Being to descend / A ladder much in height, I did not tend / My way well down.
  6. (transitive, nautical) To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.
Synonyms Translations
  • German: sorgen für
  • Italian: avere cura di, accudire, curare, dedicarsi
  • Portuguese: cuidar de
  • Russian: уха́живать
  • Spanish: cuidar de, ver por, velar por
Translations Translations Verb

tend (tends, present participle tending; past and past participle tended)

  1. (transitive, now chiefly dialectal) To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.
Translations


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