GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 5 definitions 

  1.       

    Bend , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bended or Bent ; p. pr. & vb. n. Bending.] [AS. bendan to bend, fr. bend a band, bond, fr. bindan to bind. See Bind, v. t., and cf. 3d & 4th Bend.]
    1. To strain or move out of a straight line; to crook by straining; to make crooked; to curve; to make ready for use by drawing into a curve; as, to bend a bow; to bend the knee.
      1913 Webster
    2. To turn toward some certain point; to direct; to incline. “Bend thine ear to supplication.”
      Milton.

      1913 Webster
      Towards Coventry bend we our course.
      Shak.

      1913 Webster
      Bending her eyes . . . upon her parent.
      Sir W. Scott.

      1913 Webster
    3. To apply closely or with interest; to direct.
      1913 Webster
      To bend his mind to any public business.
      Temple.

      1913 Webster
      But when to mischief mortals bend their will.
      Pope.

      1913 Webster
    4. To cause to yield; to render submissive; to subdue. “Except she bend her humor.”
      Shak.

      1913 Webster
    5. (Naut.) To fasten, as one rope to another, or as a sail to its yard or stay; or as a cable to the ring of an anchor.
      Totten.

      1913 Webster
      To bend the brow, to knit the brow, as in deep thought or in anger; to scowl; to frown.
      Camden.

      1913 Webster
      Syn. -- To lean; stoop; deflect; bow; yield.
      1913 Webster
    
      
    
  2.       

    Bent , imp. & p. p. of Bend.
    1913 Webster
    
      
    
  3.       

    Bent, a. & p. p.
    1. Changed by pressure so as to be no longer straight; crooked; as, a bent pin; a bent lever.
      1913 Webster
    2. Strongly inclined toward something, so as to be resolved, determined, set, etc.; -- said of the mind, character, disposition, desires, etc., and used with on; as, to be bent on going to college; he is bent on mischief.
      1913 Webster
    
      
    
  4.       

    Bent, n. [See Bend, n. & v.]
    1. The state of being curved, crooked, or inclined from a straight line; flexure; curvity; as, the bent of a bow. [Obs.]
      Wilkins.

      1913 Webster
    2. A declivity or slope, as of a hill. [R.]
      Dryden.

      1913 Webster
    3. A leaning or bias; proclivity; tendency of mind; inclination; disposition; purpose; aim.
      Shak.

      1913 Webster
      With a native bent did good pursue.
      Dryden.

      1913 Webster
    4. Particular direction or tendency; flexion; course.
      1913 Webster
      Bents and turns of the matter.
      Locke.

      1913 Webster
    5. (Carp.) A transverse frame of a framed structure.
      1913 Webster
    6. Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus. [Archaic]
      1913 Webster
      The full bent and stress of the soul.
      Norris.

      1913 Webster
      Syn. -- Predilection; turn. Bent, Bias, Inclination, Prepossession. These words agree in describing a permanent influence upon the mind which tends to decide its actions. Bent denotes a fixed tendency of the mind in a given direction. It is the widest of these terms, and applies to the will, the intellect, and the affections, taken conjointly; as, the whole bent of his character was toward evil practices. Bias is literally a weight fixed on one side of a ball used in bowling, and causing it to swerve from a straight course. Used figuratively, bias applies particularly to the judgment, and denotes something which acts with a permanent force on the character through that faculty; as, the bias of early education, early habits, etc. Inclination is an excited state of desire or appetency; as, a strong inclination to the study of the law. Prepossession is a mingled state of feeling and opinion in respect to some person or subject, which has laid hold of and occupied the mind previous to inquiry. The word is commonly used in a good sense, an unfavorable impression of this kind being denominated a prejudice. “Strong minds will be strongly bent, and usually labor under a strong bias; but there is no mind so weak and powerless as not to have its inclinations, and none so guarded as to be without its prepossessions.”
      Crabb.

      1913 Webster
    
      
    
  5.       

    Bent , n. [AS. beonet; akin to OHG. pinuz, G. binse, rush, bent grass; of unknown origin.]
    1. A reedlike grass; a stalk of stiff, coarse grass.
      1913 Webster
      His spear a bent, both stiff and strong.
      Drayton.

      1913 Webster
    2. (Bot.) A grass of the genus Agrostis, esp. Agrostis vulgaris, or redtop. The name is also used of many other grasses, esp. in America.
      1913 Webster
    3. Any neglected field or broken ground; a common; a moor. [Obs.]
      Wright.

      1913 Webster
      Bowmen bickered upon the bent.
      Chevy Chase.

      1913 Webster

Last match results