- [countable] a curve or turn, especially in a road or river
- a sharp bend in the road
- You took that bend very fast!
- He lost control on a bend and crashed into a tree.
- As the driver came round the bend, she saw the lorry.
Extra ExamplesTopics Geographyb1, Transport by car or lorryb1- He had a winning lead off the final bend.
- I inched the car into the bend.
- Slow down on the tight bends.
- The car vanished around a bend.
- a series of dangerous bends
- a wide bend in the river
- mountain roads with steep gradients and blind bends (= that you cannot see around)
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- gentle
- slight
- wide
- …
- series
- come around
- come round
- negotiate
- …
- around a/the bend
- round a/the bend
- into a/the bend
- …
- the bends[plural] severe pain and difficulty in breathing experienced by a diver who comes back to the surface of the water too quickly synonym decompression sicknessTopics Sports: water sportsc2, Health problemsc2
Word OriginOld English bendan ‘put in bonds, tension a bow by means of a string’, of Germanic origin; related to band ‘strip of material’.
Idioms
See bend in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee bend in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishround the bend/twist
(North American English around the bend)
- (informal) crazy
- I would go round the bend if I had your job.
- The kids have been driving me round the bend today (= annoying me very much).
Check pronunciation:
bend