tended; tending; tends
2
: to move, direct, or develop one's course in a particular direction
cannot tell where society is tending
tended; tending; tends
1
: to pay attention : apply oneself
tend to your own affairs
tend to our correspondence
2
: to act as an attendant : serve
tended to his wife
3
archaic
: listen
4
obsolete
: await
1
2
: to stand by (something, such as a rope) in readiness to prevent mischance (such as fouling)
3
archaic
: to attend as a servant
Synonyms
Verb (1)
Verb (2)
Examples of tend in a Sentence
Verb (1)
her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics
Verb (2)
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
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024
Children on the autism spectrum tend to wander, or elope, from home and other safe places at a higher rate than their peers, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Treadmills tend to take up a lot of floor space and can be hard to move around once installed.
—PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
The weeks immediately succeeding an electoral loss, particularly a Democratic one, tend to be a stormy season of insta-postmortems and finger-pointing.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tend 
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Verb
Keep in mind that bucks and does often bed within the same block, but bucks tend to bed at higher elevations or in areas that are more advantageous.
—Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024
Children on the autism spectrum tend to wander, or elope, from home and other safe places at a higher rate than their peers, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
—Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Treadmills tend to take up a lot of floor space and can be hard to move around once installed.
—PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
The weeks immediately succeeding an electoral loss, particularly a Democratic one, tend to be a stormy season of insta-postmortems and finger-pointing.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tend
Articles Related to tend
Dictionary Entries Near tend
Cite this Entry
“Tend.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tend. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tend
1 of 2 verb1
: to pay attention
tend to business
2
a
: to take care of
b
: to help the growth or development of
tend the garden
3
: to have responsibility for as caretaker
tended sheep
4
: to manage the operation of or do the necessary work connected with
tend the fire
tend
2 of 2 verb1
: to move or turn in a certain direction
the road tends to the right
2
: to be likely
a person who tends to slouch
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