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[bend] /bɛnd/

verb (used with object), bent or (Archaic) bended; bending.
1.
to force (an object, especially a long or thin one) from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form:
to bend an iron rod into a hoop.
2.
to direct or turn in a particular direction:
to bend one’s energies to the task.
3.
to cause to submit or yield:
to bend someone to one’s will.
4.
to modify or relax (restrictions, regulations, etc.) temporarily or in certain circumstances:
to bend the rules.
5.
to incline mentally (usually followed by to or toward):
bending his thoughts back toward his childhood.
6.
to pull back the string of (a bow or the like) in preparation for shooting.
7.
Nautical. to fasten.
8.
Archaic. to strain or brace tensely (often followed by up).
verb (used without object), bent or (Archaic) bended; bending.
9.
to become curved, crooked, or bent:
a bow that bends easily.
10.
to assume a bent posture; stoop (often followed by over):
to bend as one walks; to bend over and pick up something.
11.
to turn or incline in a particular direction; be directed:
The road bent toward the south.
12.
to yield or submit; give in.
13.
to bow in submission or reverence:
bending to one’s monarch.
14.
to direct one’s energies:
We bent to our work as the bell sounded.
noun
15.
the act of bending.
16.
something that bends; curve; crook:
a bend in the road; a bend in the curtain rod.
17.
Nautical. any of various loops or knots for joining the ends of two ropes or the like, or for joining the end of a rope or the like to some other object.
18.
bends, Nautical.

19.
the bends, (def 2).
Idioms
20.
around / round the bend, Slang. insane; crazy:
These interruptions will send me round the bend!
21.
bend / lean / fall over backward, to exert oneself to the utmost; make a serious effort:
They bent over backward to make sure their guests were comfortable.
[fawl] /fɔl/
verb (used without object), fell, fallen, falling.
1.
to drop or descend under the force of gravity, as to a lower place through loss or lack of support.
2.
to come or drop down suddenly to a lower position, especially to leave a standing or erect position suddenly, whether voluntarily or not:
to fall on one’s knees.
3.
to become less or lower; become of a lower level, degree, amount, quality, value, number, etc.; decline:
The temperature fell ten degrees. Stock prices fell to a new low for the year.
4.
to subside or abate.
5.
extend downward; hang down:
Her hair falls to her shoulders.
6.
to become lowered or directed downward, as the eyes:
My eyes fell before his steady gaze.
7.
to become lower in pitch or volume:
Her voice fell, and she looked about in confusion.
8.
to succumb to temptation or sin, especially to become unchaste or to lose one’s innocence.
9.
to lose status, dignity, position, character, etc.
10.
to succumb to attack:
The city fell to the enemy.
11.
to be overthrown, as a government.
12.
to drop down wounded or dead, especially to be slain:
to fall in battle.
13.
to pass into some physical, mental, or emotional condition:
to fall asleep; to fall in love.
14.
to envelop or come as if by dropping, as stillness or night.
15.
to issue forth:
Witty remarks fall easily from his lips.
16.
to come by lot or chance:
The chore fell to him.
17.
to come by chance into a particular position:
to fall among thieves.
18.
to come to pass, occur, or become at a certain time:
Christmas falls on a Monday this year. The rent falls due the first of every month.
19.
to have its proper place:
The accent falls on the last syllable.
20.
to come by right:
The inheritance fell to the only living relative.
21.
to be naturally divisible (usually followed by into):
The story fell into two distinct parts.
22.
to lose animation; appear disappointed, as the face:
His face fell when he heard the bad news.
23.
to slope or extend in a downward direction:
The field falls gently to the river.
24.
to be directed, as light, sight, etc., on something:
His eyes fell upon the note on the desk.
25.
to collapse, as through weakness, damage, poor construction, or the like; topple or sink:
The old tower fell under its own weight. The cake fell when he slammed the oven door.
26.
(of an animal, especially a lamb) to be born:
Two lambs fell yesterday.
verb (used with object), fell, fallen, falling.
27.
to fell (a tree, animal, etc.).
noun
28.
an act or instance of falling or dropping from a higher to a lower place or position.
29.
that which falls or drops:
a heavy fall of rain.
30.
the season of the year that comes after summer and before winter; autumn.
31.
a becoming less; a lowering or decline; a sinking to a lower level:
the fall of the Roman Empire.
32.
the distance through which anything falls:
It is a long fall to the ground from this height.
33.
Usually, falls. a cataract or waterfall.
34.
downward slope or declivity:
the gentle rise and fall of the meadow.
35.
a falling from an erect position, as to the ground:
to have a bad fall.
36.
a hanging down:
a fall of long hair.
37.
a succumbing to temptation; lapse into sin.
38.
the Fall, (sometimes lowercase) Theology. the lapse of human beings into a state of natural or innate sinfulness through the sin of Adam and Eve.
39.
Slang. an arrest by the police.
40.
surrender or capture, as of a city.
41.
proper place:
the fall of an accent on a syllable.
42.
Wrestling.

43.
a hairpiece consisting of long hair that is attached to one’s own hair at the crown and usually allowed to hang freely down the back of the head so as to cover or blend with the natural hair.
44.
an opaque veil hanging loose from the back of a hat.
45.
.
46.
a decorative cascade of lace, ruffles, or the like.
47.
Machinery, Nautical. the part of the rope of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting.
48.
Hunting. a deadfall.
49.
the long soft hair that hangs over the forehead and eyes of certain terriers.
50.
Armor. a pivoted peak projecting over the face opening of a burgonet.
51.
Astrology. the sign of the zodiac in which the most negative influence of a planet is expressed (opposed to (def 5.)).
52.
Mining. rock or ore that has collapsed from a roof, hanging wall, or the sides of a passage.
Verb phrases
53.
fall away,

54.
fall back, to give way; recede; retreat:
The relentless shelling forced the enemy to fall back.
55.
fall back on/upon,

56.
fall behind,

57.
fall down, Informal. to perform disappointingly; to disappoint; fail:
He was doing well on the exam until he fell down on the last essay question.
58.
fall for, Slang.

59.
fall in,

60.
fall off,

61.
fall on/upon,

62.
fall out,

63.
fall through, to come to nothing; fail of realization:
Despite all his efforts, the deal fell through.
64.
fall to,

65.
fall under,

Idioms
66.
fall all over oneself, to show unusual or excessive enthusiasm or eagerness, especially in the hope of being favored or rewarded:
The young trainees fell all over themselves to praise the boss’s speech.
Also, fall over oneself.
67.
fall / come short. (def 44).
68.
fall foul / afoul of. (def 38).
69.
fall off the roof, Slang: Older Use. to menstruate.
70.
fall / land on one’s feet. (def 3).
71.
fall out of bed, to get out of bed quickly.
72.
fall over backward(s),

/fɔːl/
verb (mainly intransitive) falls, falling, fell (fɛl), fallen (ˈfɔːlən)
1.
to descend by the force of gravity from a higher to a lower place
2.
to drop suddenly from an erect position
3.
to collapse to the ground, esp in pieces
4.
to become less or lower in number, quality, etc: prices fell in the summer
5.
to become lower in pitch
6.
to extend downwards: her hair fell to her waist
7.
to be badly wounded or killed
8.
to slope in a downward direction
9.
(Christianity) to yield to temptation or sin
10.
to diminish in status, estimation, etc
11.
to yield to attack: the city fell under the assault
12.
to lose power: the government fell after the riots
13.
to pass into or take on a specified condition: to fall asleep, fall in love
14.
to adopt a despondent expression: her face fell
15.
to be averted: her gaze fell
16.
to come by chance or presumption: suspicion fell on the butler
17.
to occur; take place: night fell, Easter falls early this year
18.
(of payments) to be due
19.
to be directed to a specific point
20.
foll by back, behind, etc. to move in a specified direction
21.
to occur at a specified place: the accent falls on the last syllable
22.
(foll by to) to return (to); be inherited (by): the estate falls to the eldest son
23.
often foll by into, under, etc. to be classified or included: the subject falls into two main areas
24.
to issue forth: a curse fell from her lips
25.
(of animals, esp lambs) to be born
26.
(Brit, dialect) to become pregnant
27.
(transitive) (Austral & NZ, dialect) to fell (trees)
28.
(cricket) (of a batsman’s wicket) to be taken by the bowling side: the sixth wicket fell for 96
29.
(archaic) to begin to do: fall a-doing, fall to doing
30.
fall flat, to fail to achieve a desired effect
31.
fall foul of

32.
fall short

noun
33.
an act or instance of falling
34.
something that falls: a fall of snow
35.
(mainly US) autumn
36.
the distance that something falls: a hundred-foot fall
37.
a sudden drop from an upright position
38.
(often pl)

39.
a downward slope or decline
40.
a decrease in value, number, etc
41.
a decline in status or importance
42.
a moral lapse or failing
43.
a capture or overthrow: the fall of the city
44.
a long false hairpiece; switch
45.
a piece of loosely hanging material, such as a veil on a hat
46.
(machinery, nautical) the end of a tackle to which power is applied to hoist it
47.
(nautical) one of the lines of a davit for holding, lowering, or raising a boat
48.
(wrestling) Also called pinfall. a scoring move, pinning both shoulders of one’s opponent to the floor for a specified period
49.
(hunting)

50.

51.
(slang, mainly US) take the fall, to be blamed, punished, or imprisoned
/fɔːl/
noun
1.
(theol) the Fall, Adam’s sin of disobedience and the state of innate sinfulness ensuing from this for himself and all mankind See also original sin
/bɛnd/
verb bends, bending, bent
1.
to form or cause to form a curve, as by pushing or pulling
2.
to turn or cause to turn from a particular direction: the road bends left past the church
3.
(intransitive; often foll by down, etc) to incline the body; stoop; bow
4.
to submit or cause to submit: to bend before superior force
5.
(transitive) to turn or direct (one’s eyes, steps, attention, etc)
6.
(transitive) to concentrate (the mind); apply oneself closely
7.
(transitive) (nautical) to attach or fasten, as a sail to a boom or a line to a cleat
8.
(informal) bend over backwards, to make a special effort, esp in order to please: he bends over backwards to accommodate his customers
9.
(informal) bend someone’s ear, to speak at length to an unwilling listener, esp to voice one’s troubles
10.
(informal) bend the rules, to ignore rules or change them to suit one’s own convenience
noun
11.
a curved part, as in a road or river
12.
(nautical) a knot or eye in a line for joining it to another or to an object
13.
the act or state of bending
14.
(Brit, slang) round the bend, mad; crazy; eccentric
/bɛnd/
noun
1.
(heraldry) an ordinary consisting of a diagonal line traversing a shield
v.

Old English feallan (class VII strong verb; past tense feoll, past participle feallen) “to fall; fail, decay, die,” from Proto-Germanic *fallanan (cf. Old Frisian falla, Old Saxon fallan, Dutch vallen, Old Norse falla, Old High German fallan, German fallen), from PIE root *pol- “to fall” (cf. Armenian p’ul “downfall,” Lithuanian puola “to fall,” Old Prussian aupallai “finds,” literally “falls upon”).

Most of the figurative senses had developed in Middle English. Meaning “to be reduced” (as temperature) is from 1650s. To fall in love is attested from 1520s; to fall asleep is late 14c. Fall through “come to naught” is from 1781. To fall for something is from 1903.
n.

c.1200, “a falling;” see fall (n.). Old English noun form, fealle, meant “snare, trap.” Sense of “autumn” (now only in U.S.) is 1660s, short for fall of the leaf (1540s). That of “cascade, waterfall” is from 1570s. Wrestling sense is from 1550s. Of a city under siege, etc., 1580s. Fall guy is from 1906.
v.

Old English bendan “to bend a bow; confine with a string, fetter,” causative of bindan “to bind,” from Proto-Germanic base *band- “string, band” (cf. Old Norse benda “to join, strain, strive, bend”), from PIE root *bhendh- “to bind” (cf. Gothic bindan, Old High German bintan, Sanskrit badhnati “binds,” Lithuanian bendras “partner;” Old Persian bandaka- “subject”).

Modern sense (early 14c.) is via notion of bending a bow to string it. Cognate with band, bind, and bond. Related: Bended; bent; bending.
n.

“a bending or curving,” 1590s; “thing of bent shape,” c.1600, from bend (v.). Earlier “act of drawing a bow” (mid-15c.). The bends “decompression pain” first attested 1894.

“broad diagonal band in a coat-of-arms, etc.,” c.1400, from earlier sense of “thin, flat strap for wrapping round,” from Old English bend “fetter, shackle, chain,” from PIE *bhendh- (see bend (v.)).

bend (běnd)
v. bent (běnt), bend·ing, bends
To incline the body; stoop.

noun

: This your first fall, ain’t it?/ Another fall meant a life sentence (1893+)

verb

Related Terms

pratfall, the roof falls in, take a fall, take the rap

noun

bender (1870s+)

verb

To slur a note: They alter pitch and they call it ”bending” (1940s+ Jazz musicians)

Related Terms

around the bend