tend 1 of 2

verb (1)

ˈtend How to pronounce tend (audio)
Definition of tendnext
as in to lean
to show a liking or proneness (for something) her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tend

2 of 2

verb (2)

1
as in to watch
to take charge of especially on behalf of another tend the store while I run an errand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to grow
to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to cultivate
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens

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4
as in to manage
to look after and make decisions about the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tend
Verb
Anisha Patel-Dunn, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer of LifeStance Health, told CNBC that the slide into seasonal depression tends to begin as summer gives way to shorter afternoons and darker mornings. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026 Think of it as making the ordinary feel special during the months when seasonal depression tends to hit hardest. — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026 This all means pollutants tend not to disperse or dilute easily. — Paula Hancocks, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026 Still, the intellectual property of celebrities tends to decline in value over time. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 23 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for tend
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tend
  1. lean
  2. watch
  3. grow
  4. cultivate
  5. manage
  6. supervise
  7. produce
  8. operate
Verb
  • Writing diaristic, country-leaning soft-rock, Stiltz also touches on the work of David Berman and Bill Callahan.
    — Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
  • As a workplace messaging app, workers spend a lot of their day in Slack to begin with, and Salesforce is leaning into that with more integrations and AI functionality.
    — Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of lean
Verb
  • In practice, that means juniors sitting in on meetings to watch colleagues interrogate the numbers, being present when real decisions get made, and gaining experience in different departments.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Rams watching the panic meter This season certainly hasn’t gone according to plan for the Rams.
    — Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of watch
Verb
  • The bank also expects revenue to grow annually through 2028, targeting 5% growth that year compared with 2027, excluding notable items and on a constant currency basis.
    — Jenny Lee, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The vote, which had been scheduled for last week, was delayed after two days of deliberations because of growing wariness among Egyptians concerned about an intervention in Yemen's long-running conflict.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of grow
Verb
  • Also known as cattails or typha, the plants can be cultivated through paludiculture, the farming of wetland crops on rewetted land.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • It may be meant to teach posture or independence, invite play, cultivate an appreciation of craft, or eventually become an heirloom.
    — Steven Weill, Architectural Digest, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of cultivate
Verb
  • Union Berlin managed to draw at Augsburg 1-1 after a player from each was sent off in separate incidents.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The winner will gain one of five seats on the board that runs the highway district, which is responsible for building, managing and maintaining local roads and bridges countywide — as well as setting ACHD’s nearly $260 million annual budget.
    — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of manage
Verb
  • Children under 12 must be accompanied by a supervising companion who is at least 14 years old.
    — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The California Department of State Hospitals contracts with Liberty Healthcare to supervise people convicted of specific crimes and who also struggle with significant mental health conditions.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of supervise
Verb
  • Co-produced by John Congleton, the record swaps synth-pop for gutter-punk, with distorted guitars and clattering surf riffs as its weapons of choice.
    — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026
  • However, this movie carries a hefty $100 million price tag (stop-motion animation is labor-intensive and takes years to produce) and likely won’t turn a theatrical profit.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of produce
Verb
  • Betsy Smith, the head of the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit which operates the park, cheered the passage of the bill.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Such facilities successfully operate today, prioritizing community leadership, transparency, compensation and quiet all at once.
    — Neil Chatterjee, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of operate

Browse Nearby Words

tenants
tend
tended
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Cite this Entry

“Tend.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tend. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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