mend

Word family

Related topics: Illness & disability

mend1 /mend/ verb

repair 修理 [transitiveT]

a) REPAIRto repair a tear or hole in a piece of clothing 修补，缝补〔布料上的裂口或破洞〕

My father used to mend our shoes.

我父亲过去常为我们修补鞋子。

b) British EnglishBrEREPAIR to repair something that is broken or not working 修理〔破损或有毛病的物件〕 SYN fix

When are you going to mend that light in the hall?

你打算什么时候修一修门厅里的那盏灯？

Tim can mend any broken toy.

什么玩具坏了蒂姆都能修。

► see thesaurus at repair

2 become healthy 变得健康 [intransitiveI] informalMIRECOVER/GET BETTER if a broken bone mends, it becomes whole again 〔断骨〕愈合 SYN heal

His leg isn’t mending as quickly as he’d expected.

他的腿愈合得不像他预想的那样快。

3 mend your ways IMPROVEBEHAVEto improve the way you behave after behaving badly for a long time 改正不良行为

If he doesn’t mend his ways, he’ll be asked to leave.

如果他不好好改改，会让他走人的。

Examples from the Corpus

mend your ways• It's possible the college might take you back, but first you'll have to convince them you've mended your ways.• The Communist Party committees tried to 're-educate' him but he refused to mend his ways.• More recently, and equally significantly, the colony's stock market had mended its ways.• More uniform arrangements will allow good schools to flourish, they say, while forcing bad ones to mend their ways.• She wrote back in an unusually cheery vein in-tended to demonstrate, I suppose, that she was mending her ways.• And attempts to mend its ways are running into trouble.• This makes it less likely that investors would encourage a dissolute borrower to mend its ways by withholding finance.• If he doesn't mend his ways he'll be in jail by the time he's eighteen.• As a result of this report the caretaker was informed that if he did not mend his ways he would be discharged.

4 mend (your) fences TALK TO somebodyto try to become friendly with someone again after you have offended them or argued with them 消释前嫌，重修旧好

Is it too late to mend fences with your ex-wife?

现在和你的前妻重修旧好来不及了吗？

Examples from the Corpus

mend (your) fences• Security has tightened since the bombing, but the royal family has tried to mend fences.• Voice over Stephen Morgan wants to mend fences with the council not build obstacles.• Is it too late to mend fences with your ex-wife?

5 end a quarrel 结束争吵 [transitiveT]DEAL WITH to end a quarrel or difficult situation by dealing with the problem that is causing it 结束〔争吵〕，解决〔问题〕 SYN repair

I’ve tried to mend matters between us, but she’s still very angry.

我已经尽力去解决我们之间的问题，但她仍然很生气。

Examples from the Corpus

mend• I need to get my sleeve mended.• Walters was off the team for a year while his ribs mended.• It can cope with a cold, fight off a serious illness and with time, even mend a broken bone.• Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes.• Yes, she agreed with Louise, quarrels could be mended by talking.• It used to stick and Emyr has mended it, but Hywel still kicks it.• I had so little to do I spent all my time fussing over my hair and mending my clothes.• They travelled in open formation, picking their way around obstacles and frequently having to stop to mend punctures.• A pin was inserted to mend the fracture in his foot.• I called a service engineer in to mend the lift.• The children are taught to mend their own clothes.• I can afford new ones, but find myself spending a couple of quiet hours mending them.• Mending this problem will take more than money.• Moses Mossop was regularly at work making and mending wooden barrels.

mend2 noun [countableC]

1 be on the mend RECOVER/GET BETTERto be getting better after an illness or after a difficult period 〔病后或困难时期过后〕正在好转 SYN be recovering

He’s had flu, but he’s on the mend.

他得了流感，但正在恢复。

signs that the economy is on the mend

经济复苏的迹象

Examples from the Corpus

be on the mend• I'm glad to see you're on the mend again.• Ron's still taking medication, but he's on the mend.• He wanted his fans to know he was on the mend.• Once he was on the mend, we decided to try and do something about his crooked leg.• And he was very keen on Sara Calvert while he was on the mend.• Increased sales are a sign that the housing market is on the mend.• Kathy's been quite ill with flu, but I think she's on the mend now.• They are still unrepresented in great cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, but they seem at last to be on the mend.• You are on the mend, I promise you.

2. REPAIRa place in something where it has been repaired 修补过的地方

Examples from the Corpus

mend• Every length of rope had mends and splices.• They are still unrepresented in great cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, but they seem at last to be on the mend.• Robby Thompson, on the mend from shoulder and back injuries last season, continued to have a tremendous spring.

From Longman Business Dictionary

mendmend /mend/ noun

on the mend improving again after being weak

The economy is now on the mend.

Origin mend1

(1100-1200) amend

mend1 verbmend2 noun

Chinese

Corpus