tend1
/tɛnd
/verb [no object, with infinitive]
1Regularly or frequently behave in a particular way or have a certain characteristic: written language tends to be formal her hair tended to come loose...
- People tended not to save email messages.
- We tend not to reapply sun cream frequently enough.
- The primary carer tends frequently to be the mother and therefore the law favours the mother.
Synonyms
be inclined, be apt, be disposed, be prone, be liable, have/show a tendency, be likely, have a propensity
1.1 [no object] (tend to/towards) Be liable to possess or display (a particular characteristic): Walter tended towards corpulence...
- Too many of the characterizations tend towards the stereotypical.
- His other stories tend towards an intentional fuzziness.
- The script tends towards melodrama.
Synonyms
incline, lean, swing, veer, gravitate, be drawn, move;
favour;
show a preference for, be biased;
North American trend
1.2 [no object, with adverbial] Go or move in a particular direction: fire is hot and tends upwards...
- The arguments always tend in the same direction.
- Alan winced at the direction in which his thoughts were tending.
- Who controls events, and in which direction do they tend?
1.3 [no object] (tend to) Mathematics (Of a variable) approach a given quantity as a limit: the orbit tends to infinity...
- The requirements of perfect competition are that there must be very large, tending to infinite, numbers of producers and of consumers.
- As time tends to infinity both the variance and the total number tends to zero.
Origin
Middle English (in the sense 'move or be inclined to move in a certain direction'): from Old French tendre 'stretch, tend', from Latin tendere.
Rhymes
tend2
/tɛnd/verb [with object]
1Care for or look after; give one’s attention to: Varela tended plants on the roof [no object]: ambulance crews were tending to the injured...
- She took a keen interest in flowers and plants, tending them with great care and fondness.
- The man next door tends his weeds with care.
- Caring for livestock or tending the land seems an idyllic lifestyle.
Synonyms
look after, take care of, care for, minister to, attend to, see to, wait on, cater to;
watch over, keep an eye on, mind, protect, watch, guard;
nurse, nurture, cherish;
maintain, cultivate, keep, manage
1.1US Direct or manage; work in: I’ve been tending bar at the airport lounge...
- She manages a restaurant downtown and tends bar once a week.
- The two met a decade ago when he was tending bar.
- He still spends his days tending bar, surrounded by smokers.
1.2 archaic Wait on as an attendant or servant: the man that tended the carpenter [no object]: Enid tended on him there...
- The suicide bombers believe that a place in paradise awaited him, 70 virgins waiting to tend their every need.
- I will be able to tend upon you regularly for the next week but after that my time will be divided.
Derivatives
tendance
- The plants are safely in the ground now where I will let nature take its course rather than watch them wither in their pots under my tendance.
Origin
Middle English: shortening of attend.