fence1 nounfence2 verb
fencefence1 /fens/ ●●● S3 noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINfence1
Origin:
1300-1400 defenseEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- A workman adjusting a machine removed the fence and turned the machine by hand in order to do the job.
- And John, the stud bull spooked by the power lines that suddenly appear on the other side of the fence.
- He was beaten with a fence post and stabbed.
- If 64 horses start a race of six fences and half of those left fall at each fence, how many finish?
- Q: I planted nine tomatoes by a wooden fence and six close to the back wall of the house.
- They tore the fence down to get at us.
- Three arrangements with eight fences; five with ten fences ... odd numbers ... Was there a pattern?
THESAURUS
an upright flat structure made of stone or brick, that divides one area from another or surrounds an area: · The estate is surrounded by high stone walls.· a brick wall
a structure made of wood, metal etc that surrounds a piece of land: · The garden was surrounded by an old wooden fence.· the chain link fence around the school
a metal fence that is made of a series of upright bars: · the iron railings in front of the house· The boy was leaning over the railing on the side of the boat.
a type of fence or gate that prevents people from moving in a particular direction: · A guard stood near the barrier.· The police had put up barriers to keep the crowd under control.
a piece of furniture like a thin wall that can be moved around and is used to divide one part of a room from another: · the screen around his hospital bed· a Japanese bamboo screen· a fire screen (=that you put near a fire)
a thin wall that separates one part of a room from another: · The room was divided into two by a thin partition.· The offices are separated by partitions and you can hear everything that is said in the next office.
a line of objects that people have put across a road, to prevent people getting past, especially as part of a protest: · The soldiers used tanks to smash through the barricades.
WORD SETSaisle, nounbelfry, nounbiomass, nounbooth, nounbreakwater, nounbridge, nounbridge, verbclapboard, nouncondemn, verbcondo, nounconstructor, nouncourtyard, nouncubicle, nouncupola, noundais, nounderrick, noundes res, noundeveloper, noundevelopment, noundome, noundomed, adjectivedry rot, nounDumpster, noundump truck, nounduplex, nounDutch barn, noundwelling, noundyke, nouneaves, nounelevator, nounescalator, nounestate, nounexit, nounfarmstead, nounfence, nounfirebrick, nounflagged, adjectiveflagstone, nounfortify, verbfoundation stone, nounfountain, nounfreehold, nounglazier, nounglazing, noungrating, noungroin, noungroyne, nounhandrail, nounhousing estate, nounhut, nouninsulation, nounironwork, nounlandscape architect, nounlandscape gardening, nounlevee, nounlisted, adjectivelow-rise, adjectivelychgate, nounmanor, nounmansion, nounmarble, nounmason, nounmasonry, nounminaret, nounmulti-storey, adjectivemulti-storey, nounopen-plan, adjectivepanel, nounpanelled, adjectivepantile, nounpillar, nounplatform, nounportal, nounportcullis, nounprecast, adjectiveprefab, nounprefabricated, adjectivepre-stressed, adjectivepublic works, nounQuonset hut, nounrailing, nounredecorate, verbredevelop, verbrevolving door, nounriser, nounrising damp, nounrivet, nounrood screen, nounroof, nounroom, nounroughcast, nounrow house, nounsalon, nounsash window, nounseawall, nounshelter, nounstanchion, nounstorey, nounstrut, nounsubside, verbsubsidence, nounsubstructure, nounsuperstructure, nounsurvey, nounsurvey, verbsurveyor, nounswing bridge, nountar, nountar, verbtower, nountriplex, nounurban renewal, nounwatercourse, nounwicket gate, nounwindbreak, nounwindmill, nounyard, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
A mine blew a hole in the perimeter wall.
· The boundary wall was about twenty foot high.
A mine blew a hole in the perimeter wall.· We drew up outside a compound surrounded by a wire fence.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· One elephant put an electric fence out of action by dropping an uprooted tree on it.· It may be strip-grazed behind an electric fence, cut and carted to the cattle-yard, or made into arable silage.· On this new open landscape some cattle grazing is controlled by electric fences which are easily moved.
· They were trapped by high security fences from escaping the overcrowded stand.· They are surrounded by high metal fences, guarded by police all day, and brightly lit by spotlights through the night.· Surround carrot patch with a 15-18in high polythene fence to deter root fly.· A couple of the boys did once, climbing over the high chain link fence around the playground.· The ball flew high and wide of Judy and over the high wire fence behind her.· Interesting place, a large wooden dwelling in Tuscan red with green shutters behind a high brown wooden fence.· There were many goats on the island, and I made fields with high fences to keep them in.· Fit a strong, high gate or fence.
· He ran, and came with the front rank to the perimeter path and the low wooden fence.· The older graves had crosses and stone angels, low wrought-iron fences.
· Theodora leaned over the white rail fence which formed the fourth side of Yaxlee's yard.· The cemetery was surrounded by a white picket fence, maybe seventy yards square.
· Follow a wooden fence to cross a stile and head to the waymarked gate downhill from the farm buildings on the left.· He stayed at his side, directing him toward the wooden fence, then moving him back toward the gate.· He ran, and came with the front rank to the perimeter path and the low wooden fence.· They walked along the tall wooden fence that cut the construction site off from the avenue.· His car had plunged down a motorway verge and into a wooden fence.· Q: I planted nine tomatoes by a wooden fence and six close to the back wall of the house.· At the bottom of the hill there was a wooden fence.· Interesting place, a large wooden dwelling in Tuscan red with green shutters behind a high brown wooden fence.
NOUN· There they would touch the boundary fence and march smartly back again.· The ostrich, anxious to join in the fun again, craned his long neck well forward over the boundary fence.· The ball had reached the boundary fence - the ostrich's head merely being an extension of it.· It's sited only about a quarter mile from the northern boundary fence.· Remember that when a rabbit comes through your boundary fence on to your land it automatically changes ownership.· Where boundary fences are in poor condition, the estimated cost of rectification should be assessed as part of the financial appraisal.
· She scrambled over the garden fence and joined them, shy, thrilled.· Thieves cut their way through a garden fence and wrenched free statues and vases from the grounds of Tatton Park at Knutsford.· I turn around and see a small, fat man leaning on his garden fence.· Elisabeth took her bicycle from where she had lent it against the garden fence.· There was no formal garden to the house, no garden fence.· Last night a Vauxhall Astra careered up and down outside crashing down the garden fence.· We are not suggesting that it was a good thing that a flock of kids roosted on Mr Jones's garden fence.· This may vary from a few words exchanged over the garden fence, to visits which last all day.
· Jim said I appeared to be: George had been happy with a metal fence.· They are surrounded by high metal fences, guarded by police all day, and brightly lit by spotlights through the night.· The 16-year-old passenger was flung from the vehicle head first into a metal fence.· People were jammed behind a metal fence, waiting for passengers coming in from abroad to emerge from Customs.
· Who now remembers the second Clairol blowing from the picket fence?· I learned how to untie the rope and would push my brother over this picket fence.· Rickety grey picket fence, low gate ajar.· I mean there will be no wedding no babies no picket fences.· There was a picket fence, and a small gate.· The paint is bright, the picket fence in the front is in good shape.· In a flash, Creed was out of the jeep and creeping past foliage and tree-trunks towards the beginning of the picket fence.· Berry lives in a white frame home with a brown picket fence on the edge of Newville.
· Soldier impaled on fence post tells how he survived.· The legs of those who stood were like fence posts driven into a warm, squirming, farting, sighing earth.· He was beaten with a fence post and stabbed.· Our big thing here recently in the Southwest is displaying boots on fence posts along the highways.· Huge pyres of old railway sleepers and fence posts are being built to burn the bodies.· I would have been great as a chef, a Mandarin actor, or a fence post.· Patrick leaned in satisfaction on a fence post.· On the right is a worker painting bowling pins the size of fence posts.
· They were trapped by high security fences from escaping the overcrowded stand.· For instance, minimum-security inmates have just about finished installing two 12-foot security fences.· A security fence, with watchtowers, protects the base against attack by ground forces.
· I put up an entirely illegal barbed wire fence.· Caught in a barbed wire fence.· Exhorting him to breathe deeply they paraded him up and down beside the wire fence.· And when that wire fence tears through those little babies fall through and die.· On either side of the well-guarded checkpoint stretched wire fences, barbed-wire entanglements and minefields.· The aroma of fish and bread will drift over the hungry children standing behind the barbed wire fence, watching, waiting.· The ball flew high and wide of Judy and over the high wire fence behind her.· He was doing wheelies on a steep bank with a wire fence at the top.
VERB· Maybe it was them who built the fences and he was the brains behind the organization.· He also brought a carpenter and some posts and rough planks, and built a fence to keep the wolves away.· Forrester recommends three principles for companies wishing to build fences in the right place.· Still, early this year, city officials built a fence around the portions marked for development and the proposed park.· We were used to building fences over sloping land and difficult terrain.· Tam had complained earlier about how he was for ever sneaking up on them and poking about while they were building the fence.· This made building the fence quite exhausting.· It consisted of step-by-step diagrams of how to build a fence, with little stick men doing the work.
· They climbed over the fence like monkeys while the squire and Gray fired at them.· You could always find something entertaining to do around Morrisonville. Climb a fence.· Dusk gathers about you like a coat when you climb a fence and reach a road.· She says that they kept her awake at night, and climbed over the fences.· Anyone trying to climb the fence could have been impaled on spikes the size of joiner's nails.· You will see that we have followed our own advice and climbed down off the fence here.· You pick up the path after you've climbed the fence behind the campsite toilet.· After climbing the ancient fence which bordered the pub's premises, he leaned back against the fence for another breather.
· Three men, including one called Andrew Cunningham, were brought to the surface to erect the fence.· Buchanan wants to erect a fence on the nation Southwest border to stop illegal immigration.· The city erected a temporary fence around the tree and postponed grading of the area.
· I have often referred to my own fear when I was first required to make a horse jump a fence.· Mr Foster maintained his composure: If acceptable manners were a paddock, Mademoiselle Marguerite had not yet jumped the fence.· You and your horse need to be capable of jumping solid fences safely and under control.· I think the bull jumped the fence.· It jumped the fence lower down and disappeared from sight.· By herself she could jump over fences and ditches better than her brothers.· However, if you are committed to jumping a fence, they should not get in the way.· Some have been unable to wait, jumping the fence at night and skating on the completed ramps.
· The only thing she could do now was find Ana and mend a few fences.· He'd be mending the fence by the garage tomorrow, Saturday.· Is it too late to mend fences with your ex-wife?· Security has tightened since the bombing, but the royal family has tried to mend fences.· Voice over Stephen Morgan wants to mend fences with the council not build obstacles.
· It was far safer politically and economically to sit on the scientific fence.· Then we went outside and sat on a stone fence in the warm and gentle sun.· If the encyclopaedia has a weakness it is that it sits on the fence on controversial issues.· He is the obvious choice for those who wish to sit on the fence.
· The purple girl, now in black, stood by the fence smoking greedily.· The legs of those who stood were like fence posts driven into a warm, squirming, farting, sighing earth.· It was a long bus-ride to reach those low huts standing behind the high fence.· But the masterpieces stand along the front fence.
· The building site was surrounded by a token fence consisting of two slack strands of barbed wire.· They are surrounded by high metal fences, guarded by police all day, and brightly lit by spotlights through the night.· Some of the settlements were surrounded by ditches and fences and could be fiercely defended against other warring tribes.· Los Alamos was located in the high desert miles from Santa Fe and was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.· It was a long, low building, a hall or school perhaps, surrounded by a mesh fence.· The whole is surrounded by a rustic fence.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► fence-mending measures/talks/trips etc
1- He is the obvious choice for those who wish to sit on the fence.
- If the encyclopaedia has a weakness it is that it sits on the fence on controversial issues.
- Is it too late to mend fences with your ex-wife?
- Security has tightened since the bombing, but the royal family has tried to mend fences.
- Voice over Stephen Morgan wants to mend fences with the council not build obstacles.
- You can't sit on the fence any longer - what's it going to be?
- He is the obvious choice for those who wish to sit on the fence.
- If the encyclopaedia has a weakness it is that it sits on the fence on controversial issues.
- But Jack managed to have Bailey taking a corner - and then Bailey heading the flag-kick into the net.
- He was also taking fencing, just because it was new and different.
- Lucker has not been taking corners well.
- Next time she came ... He began fantasising and had to take avoiding action 81 when he took a corner too wide.
- Riding to hounds, taking fences and obstacles along a route dictated by the fox is a very skilled activity.
- They take corners to the far post and have a direct shot at goal from a free kick.
- Vi took a corner seat farthest away from the door.
- We took a corner table and sat down.
a structure made of wood, metal etc that surrounds a piece of land2a wall or other structure that horses jump over in a race or competition3informal someone who buys and sells stolen goods4sit/be on the fence to avoid saying which side of an argument you support → mend (your) fences at mend1(4)fence1 nounfence2 verb
fencefence2 verb VERB TABLE
fence
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | fence |
| he, she, it | fences | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | fenced |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have fenced |
| he, she, it | has fenced | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had fenced |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will fence |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have fenced |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am fencing |
| he, she, it | is fencing | |
| you, we, they | are fencing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was fencing |
| you, we, they | were fencing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been fencing |
| he, she, it | has been fencing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been fencing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be fencing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been fencing |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Now enlightened farmers are fencing off and replanting areas which can he selectively utilised for animal feeding.
- They have all been trapped by the high rift walls that fence in the plain.
- Those who have ever given fencing a chance up-close, probably realize that it always has been an entertaining event.
- Till now they had fenced gently.
WORD SETS
adobe, nounasphalt, nounbatten, nounbeam, nounblueprint, nounboard, nounboom, nounbreeze-block, nounbrick, nounbricklayer, nounbrickwork, nounbucket, nounbuilder, nounbuilding contractor, nounbuilding site, nounbulldoze, verbbulldozer, nounbuttress, nouncaisson, nouncantilever, nouncastellated, adjectivecavity wall, nouncement, nouncement, verbconcrete, adjectiveconcrete, nounconcrete, verbconduit, nounconstruct, verbcrane, nouncrosspiece, noundaub, noundigger, noundowel, noundrain, noundrainage, noundraughtsman, noundry-stone wall, noundry wall, nounduckboards, noundustsheet, nounembankment, nounerect, verberection, nounfence, verbfencing, nounfiberboard, nounfibreboard, nounfloor plan, nounfoundation, noungantry, noungatepost, noungirder, noungreenfield site, nounhalf-timbered, adjectivehard hat, nounhod, nounhousing association, nounhousing project, nounjackhammer, nounjib, nounjoist, nounkeystone, nounlath, nounleading, nounmansard, nounmortar, nounpanelling, nounpanel pin, nounpave, verbpavement, nounpebbledash, nounpier, nounpile driver, nounplank, nounplanking, nounplaster, nounplaster, verbplasterboard, nounplasterer, nounplate glass, nounpoint, verbPortakabin, nounprime, verbprimer, nounproperty developer, nounputty, nounquantity surveyor, nounrebuild, verbreconstruct, verbreconstruction, nounrefurbish, verbreinforced concrete, nounrendering, nounrenovate, verbrevetment, nounroof, nounroof, verbroofing, nounrooftop, nounrubble, nounsand, verbsandstone, nounsaw, verbscaffold, nounscaffolding, nounshovel, nounsite, nounskip, nounslab, nounslate, nounspan, verbstarter home, nounsteam shovel, nounstilt, nounstucco, nounsurface, verbsuspension bridge, nounthatch, nounthatched, adjectivetile, nountile, verbtiling, nountimber, nountopcoat, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES A mine blew a hole in the perimeter wall.
· The boundary wall was about twenty foot high.
A mine blew a hole in the perimeter wall.· We drew up outside a compound surrounded by a wire fence.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Now enlightened farmers are fencing off and replanting areas which can he selectively utilised for animal feeding.· The rink would not be fenced off in the families-only section and would be open for use by adults.· In some areas, that means fencing off hot spots or cleaning them up.· The resort was fenced off from the rest of the island and its people.· Perhaps we should fence off all the roads, down to a depth of several feet and a height of many yards.· The Republicans have fenced off the convention with chain link.· Trees and cultivation are fenced off against their hungry assaults.· Brock suggests that areas be fenced off to limit cattle grazing.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► fence-mending measures/talks/trips etc
1[transitive] to put a fence around something: - Is it too late to mend fences with your ex-wife?
- Security has tightened since the bombing, but the royal family has tried to mend fences.
- Voice over Stephen Morgan wants to mend fences with the council not build obstacles.
- You can't sit on the fence any longer - what's it going to be?
- He is the obvious choice for those who wish to sit on the fence.
- If the encyclopaedia has a weakness it is that it sits on the fence on controversial issues.
- But Jack managed to have Bailey taking a corner - and then Bailey heading the flag-kick into the net.
- He was also taking fencing, just because it was new and different.
- Lucker has not been taking corners well.
- Next time she came ... He began fantasising and had to take avoiding action 81 when he took a corner too wide.
- Riding to hounds, taking fences and obstacles along a route dictated by the fox is a very skilled activity.
- They take corners to the far post and have a direct shot at goal from a free kick.
- Vi took a corner seat farthest away from the door.
- We took a corner table and sat down.
old farmhouses and fenced gardens2[intransitive] to fight with a long thin sword as a sport3[intransitive + with] to answer someone’s questions in a clever way in order to get an advantage in an argumentfence somebody/something ↔ in phrasal verb1to surround a place with a fence: The yard was fenced in to keep out wolves.2to make someone feel that they cannot leave a place or do what they want: Young mothers often feel fenced in at home.fence something ↔ off phrasal verb to separate one area from another area with a fence: a planting area fenced off from the main garden