tend Meaning & Definition

Synonyms of Tend

Antonyms of Tend

Tend in a Sentence

They tend to go out on Saturdays.

It tends to snow here in winter.

I was tending to get up later and later after the breakup.

We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess.

Shepherds tend their flocks.

tends to be optimistic

cannot tell where society is tending

tend to your own affairs

tend to our correspondence

tended to his wife

tended her sick father

tend the sheep

tend the store

tend the fire

her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

tend the store while I run an errand

lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden

plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens

the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone

tend to your own affairs / tend to our correspondence

tend the store / tend the fire

Word Forms & Grammar

tend·ed

tend·ing

tends

tend

tended

tending

tend (third-person singular simple present tends, present participle tending, simple past and past participle tended)

Words That Rhyme With Tend

Origin of Tend

Origin 1: Middle English tenden "to stretch, spread, direct oneself (to), incline toward," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French tendre "to stretch, hold out, offer, direct (one's course), go, aim (at)," going back to Latin tendere "to extend outward, stretch, spread out, direct (one's course), aim (at a purpose)" (Medieval Latin, "to lead toward, move in a particular direction") tender:3

Origin 2: Middle English tenden, shortened from attenden "to attend" or entenden, intenden "to intend"

Origin 3: From Middle English tenden, from Middle French tendre, from Old French tendre (“to stretch, stretch out, hold forth, offer, tender”), from Latin tendere (“to stretch, stretch out, extend, spread out”).

Origin 4: From Middle English tenden (“to pay attention to”), by apheresis of attenden (“to attend”) or entenden (“to intend”). More at attend and intend.

Origin 5: From Middle English tenden, from Old English tendan (“to kindle, set on fire”) (usually in compounds ātendan, fortendan, ontendan), from Proto-Germanic *tandijaną (“to kindle”), of unknown origin. Cognate with Danish tænde (“to kindle”), Swedish tända (“to ignite”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (tandjan, “to kindle”), Icelandic tendra (“to ignite”), German zünden (“to light, ignite, fire”). Related to tinder.

First Known Use

14th century

14th centuryi