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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Bend: Meaning, Examples, and Usage Tips (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：bend down (bend)

bend 🔊

/bend/

To move your body or part of your body so that it is not straight.

bend down 🔊

➕

/bend daʊn/

To lower the upper part of your body by curving your spine or knees, often to reach something ground-level.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'bendan' meaning 'to constrain', related to 'bind'.

💡 Mnemonic

Picture a gymnast bending backward—'bend' is the move you do.

📖 Example

She had to bend down to tie her little brother's shoelaces. 🔊 To tie her younger brother's shoes, she needed to bend forward from her waist.

🔗 Collocations

bend down – to lower one's body by curving the spine or knees

bend over – to lean forward at the waist

bend forward – to incline the upper body forward

🔄 Synonyms

stoop (v.) – to bend forward and downward, often to pick something up

bow (v.) – to bend the head or upper body forward as a greeting or sign of respect

lean (v.) – to incline the body from a vertical position

🚫 Antonyms

straighten (v.) – to make something straight or upright

stand up (v.) – to rise to an upright position from a bent or sitting position

extend (v.) – to stretch out fully, making straight

🌱 Derivatives

bendable (adj.) – able to be bent

bender (n.) – a tool or person that bends something

bending (n.) – the act of making something curved

📖 Cultural Story

The word 'bend' originates from the Proto-Germanic *bandijan, related to 'band'. In modern English, it's used for both physical curving and metaphorical yielding.

Meaning 2：bend into shape (bend)

bend 🔊

/bend/

To use force to make something straight become curved or angled.

bend into shape 🔊

➕

/bend ˈɪntuː ʃeɪp/

To apply force to a stiff material to make it curved or angular, altering its original straight form.

📁 Category：Objects & Materials 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The children were trying to bend the modeling clay into the shape of a rainbow. 🔊 The kids attempted to bend the clay to form a rainbow shape.

🔗 Collocations

bend a wire – to curve a piece of metal wire

bend into a circle – to shape something into a round form by curving

bend the rules – to interpret or apply rules in a flexible (often lenient) way

🔄 Synonyms

curve (v.) – to cause something to take the shape of a curve

twist (v.) – to bend something by turning it repeatedly

flex (v.) – to bend something without breaking, especially a joint or a flexible object

🚫 Antonyms

straighten (v.) – to make something straight after it has been bent

flatten (v.) – to make something flat, removing curves

unbend (v.) – to straighten something that was bent

🌱 Derivatives

bent (adj.) – curved or angled, not straight

bendy (adj.) – easily bent; flexible

unbend (v.) – to make straight again