How to Use bend in a Sentence

bend

1 of 2 verb
  • The trees were bending in the wind.
  • He bent back to look up at the ceiling.
  • He bent the bow and shot an arrow from it.
  • The branch will bend before it breaks.
  • She bent down to pick up a piece of paper and then she straightened up again.
  • His glasses got bent when he dropped them.
  • The canyon sides were steep and sandy; the sun was hot and the wind was bending the tall conifers.
    John Riha, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023
  • Stay in the stretch, side bending with your pelvis tucked, for three to five breaths.
    Dana Santas, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Years ago, the clip used for the line tie would sometimes bend out on large fish.
    Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 17 Apr. 2024
  • Keep your left knee bent over your hip and your left arm straight up.
    Mallory Creveling, Health, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Then, bend your front knee while keeping the back leg straight.
    Caitlin Pagán, Verywell Health, 28 July 2023
  • Lie down on the floor and bend your knees at a 90-degree angle, feet flat on the ground.
    Parents Editors, Parents, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Note that since the seat is low to the ground, caregivers will have to bend over quite a bit to get the baby in and out.
    Chaunie Brusie, Rn, Parents, 7 Mar. 2024
  • By squeezing the handles on the device, the metal bed bends and the part pops off.
    Michael Molitch-Hou, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
  • With a knife that has a very fine edge, too much wear and tear can cause the steel to ripple or bend.
    Laura Denby, Peoplemag, 10 Oct. 2023
  • This happened and then there was this, and the time can’t bend, and the skyscrapers aren’t going to flip over.
    Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 27 May 2023
  • Some callers like to slightly bend the frame of their call for a better fit.
    Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2024
  • Biden then bent to hug Kathy Lebel, owner of the bar where eight people died in the Oct. 25 massacre.
    Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2023
  • For the move of the police memorial, Noseda and his crew bent to their work.
    Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2023
  • Try to keep both legs straight (if this is too difficult, try just bending the leg on the floor).
    Women's Health, 11 July 2023
  • Lie on your back, bend your knees toward your chest, and support your feet with your hands.
    Dulce Moncada, Glamour, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Waits rips a hunk of tire ad off the back page, works it into a wad, bends down and wedges the wobbly leg of his table.
    Bart Bull, Spin, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Light bends across the surface to conjure chimeric cities that hover at the horizon.
    WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023
  • The other two look as if their owners are in pain, with wrists bent back, fingers clenched.
    Grace Cote, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
  • To fold, press on the top or the sides of the tent to bend the poles into a circular shape, resulting in a flattened tent.
    Tanya Edwards, Parents, 25 Nov. 2023
  • This is not the duo’s first time bending T leadership’s ears.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 May 2023
  • The back of the eye can become flattened, and the nerves that carry visual information from the eye to the brain swell and bend.
    Rachael Seidler, Discover Magazine, 22 Sep. 2023
  • For rainbows to form, the shape of the water droplets has to be very close to a sphere for all of them to bend and reflect the colors in harmony.
    Partha Chowdhury, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2023
  • Blue Ivy bends over her shoulder to help out, and Rumi, sitting on Bey’s lap, does as well.
    Condé Nast, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2023
  • But there are no cops sniffing around here, just men willing and ready to bend the law to their own advantage.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 June 2023
Advertisement

bend

2 of 2 noun
  • Those that do dive down to the deep gates can get the bends and die.
    Tony Schick, ProPublica, 31 Oct. 2023
  • To make a right-angle bend, use the width of the anvil's face.
    Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 4 Apr. 2023
  • The hook eye gets poked through the top of the tube’s head and the hook bend gets hidden in the skirt.
    Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 4 Jan. 2024
  • Keep a soft bend in right knee and inhale through the nose.
    Andi Breitowich, Women's Health, 21 June 2023
  • Cover the first two-thirds of the shank with thread from the hook eye toward the bend.
    Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Pull one knee up to where there is a 90 degree bend in both the knee and the hip.
    Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 1 Aug. 2023
  • Steelhead and salmon will put a sharp bend in a heavy rod.
    Morgan Lyle, Field & Stream, 28 Mar. 2023
  • For styling, use a 1 & 1/4-inch curling iron at the roots and mid shaft to give it a bend and leave the ends straight.
    Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Mar. 2023
  • About 1,000 yards down the trail, in a bend of the river, is a rope swing on the opposite bank.
    Mary Colurso | McOlurso@al.com, al, 7 July 2022
  • Next, with the washer clamped in a vise, put a 90-degree bend in the washer.
    Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 2 Mar. 2023
  • How to Do It: Start with both knees and hips in a 90 degree bend— one in front and one in back.
    Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 1 Mar. 2023
  • Hinging at the hips, with a slight knee bend, brace your core, push through the glutes, and pull the handles down.
    Rozalynn S. Frazier, Health, 18 Oct. 2023
  • Then a half-mile vista of the Kern splashing straight toward us from around a bend.
    Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2022
  • Clay and Joyce continued up the trail around the next bend, stopped, and waited.
    Benjamin Hale, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023
  • With a slight bend in your knees and a flat back, hinge at hips and swing the kettlebell back through legs.
    Jordan Galloway, Women's Health, 25 July 2023
  • And the distinct sound of the Pilchuck at this bend in its course was instrumental to the founding of the shrine.
    oregonlive, 30 Apr. 2023
  • Keep back flat, abs engaged, and a slight bend in elbows.
    Andi Breitowich, Women's Health, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Epperson agrees and says that a bouncy blowout with some bends is the way to go.
    Lisa Desantis, Glamour, 30 June 2023
  • Keep a slight bend in the knees while standing in that position.
    Cori Ritchey, Men's Health, 7 Aug. 2023
  • This is where the terror-edge of being lost bends to leisurely joy.
    Ingrid Rojas Contreras, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2023
  • Even the smallest twist or bend can send pain shooting from your back down to your legs.
    Lisa Mulcahy, Good Housekeeping, 9 Aug. 2023
  • One night, three years ago, while snaking through the dark bends of Topanga Canyon, Steve Lacy came face to face with death.
    Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Police noticed a small bend in the metal of the woman’s front door.
    Bob Sandrick, cleveland, 20 Oct. 2022
  • On a small lake or pond, this might be close to a spillway; on a stream this might be a slow inside bend.
    Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 7 Feb. 2023
  • In the Rod Marinelli years, this was a no-risk bend-don’t-break approach that led to few takeaways.
    Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas News, 26 Sep. 2021
  • Phillips plays too high and needs to get more knee bend as well as improve hand placement.
    Mike Preston, baltimoresun.com, 21 Aug. 2020
  • Here's how: Stand with your feet hip-distance apart with a slight bend in your knees and a barbell placed in front of you.
    Tiffany Ayuda, Health, 22 Aug. 2023
  • For The Times) In the years since, the bend toward buttons has become a small branch of textile science.
    Melvin Backman, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
  • How to: Stand with feet hip-width apart and a gentle bend in knees, holding dumbbells.
    Addison Aloian, Women's Health, 23 Aug. 2023
  • These forms include core, squat, push, lunge, pull, agility and bend.
    Thomas Saccente, Arkansas Online, 20 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bend.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: