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Definition of intend verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

intend

verb
 
/ɪnˈtend/
 
/ɪnˈtend/
Word Family
  • intend verb
  • intended adjective (≠ unintended)
  • intention noun
  • intentional adjective (≠ unintentional)
  • intentionally adverb (≠ unintentionally)
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they intend
 
/ɪnˈtend/
 
/ɪnˈtend/
he / she / it intends
 
/ɪnˈtendz/
 
/ɪnˈtendz/
past simple intended
 
/ɪnˈtendɪd/
 
/ɪnˈtendɪd/
past participle intended
 
/ɪnˈtendɪd/
 
/ɪnˈtendɪd/
-ing form intending
 
/ɪnˈtendɪŋ/
 
/ɪnˈtendɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. [intransitive, transitive] to have a plan, result or purpose in your mind when you do something
    • We finished later than we had intended.
    • intend to do something I fully intended (= definitely intended) to pay for the damage.
    • I never intended to hurt you.
    • The train we had originally intended to catch had already left.
    • intend somebody/something to do something The writer clearly intends his readers to identify with the main character.
    • intend doing something (British English) I don't intend staying long.
    • intend something The company intends a slowdown in expansion.
    • intend somebody something He intended her no harm (= it was not his plan to harm her).
    • it is intended that… It is intended that production will start next month.
    • intend that… We intend that production will start next month.
    Extra Examples
    • She fully intends to continue her sporting career once she has recovered from her injuries.
    • He intends to retire at the end of this year.
    • I don't intend to make the same mistake again.
    • She didn't intend to kill him.
    • They stayed much longer than they'd originally intended.
    • What do you intend to do now?
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • fully
    • clearly
    • originally
    preposition
    • for
    See full entry
  2. [transitive] (rather formal) to plan that something should have a particular meaning synonym mean
    • intend something by something What exactly did you intend by that remark?
    • intend something as something He intended it as a joke.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • fully
    • clearly
    • originally
    preposition
    • for
    See full entry
  3. Word OriginMiddle English entend (in the sense ‘direct the attention to’), from Old French entendre, from Latin intendere ‘intend, extend, direct’, from in- ‘towards’ + tendere ‘stretch, tend’.
See intend in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee intend in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
perspective
noun
 
 
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