fend
To take care of oneselfTo take care of oneself; to take responsibility for one's own well-being.
» We left Mary to fend for herself.
Meaning
2 senses(intransitive)To take care of oneself; to take responsibility for one's own well-being.
alleine auskommen, für sich selbst sorgen
(rare)To defend, to take care of (typically construed with for); to block or push away (typically construed with off).
- try to manage without help
- withstand the force of something
Examples
34 sentencesWe left Mary to fend for herself.
You're going to need to learn to fend for yourselves.
I can fend for myself.
ruЯ сам могу о себе позаботиться.
In the past, the boys were taught to fend for themselves while still very young.
I can fend for myself, Tom.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English fenden (“defend, fight, prevent”), shortening of defenden (“defend”),From Middle English fenden (“defend, fight, prevent”), shortening of defenden (“defend”), from Old French deffendre (Modern French défendre), from Latin dēfendō (“to ward off”), from dē- + *fendō (“hit, thrust”), from Proto-Italic *fendō, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“strike, kill”).
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Forms
fends, fending, fended, fendedPhrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
2 synonymsWord family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle