1
as in supervises
to take charge of especially on behalf of another
tend the store while I run an errand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in grows
to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care
lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cultivates
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on
plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in manages
to look after and make decisions about
the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tends
Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Rainwater tends to stockpile on the edges of roads.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2026
Rainwater tends to accumulate at the road edges.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2026
His appeal has long started with choices, discipline and the kind of ownership that tends to show up long before the box score catches up.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026
Mitski tends to be press-shy, and wasn’t up for doing any interviews about the Hollywood High residency.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Apr. 2026
The snow season is generally over by April, and the weather tends to start drying out this time of year, with significant precipitation only to return in the fall.
—Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Apr. 2026
The hardest news tends opens the show — so maybe Monday’s Today opens on Iran; then perhaps the partial government shutdown.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026
As for the fair itself, a number of artists will be in attendance, which Sierzputowski says tends to be rare.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
At the greatest depths, where temperatures and pressures are highest, the kerogen tends to split into smaller hydrocarbons such as methane, the main component in natural gas.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Rainwater tends to stockpile on the edges of roads.
—Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2026
Rainwater tends to accumulate at the road edges.
—Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Apr. 2026
His appeal has long started with choices, discipline and the kind of ownership that tends to show up long before the box score catches up.
—C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026
Mitski tends to be press-shy, and wasn’t up for doing any interviews about the Hollywood High residency.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Apr. 2026
The snow season is generally over by April, and the weather tends to start drying out this time of year, with significant precipitation only to return in the fall.
—Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 Apr. 2026
The hardest news tends opens the show — so maybe Monday’s Today opens on Iran; then perhaps the partial government shutdown.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 3 Apr. 2026
As for the fair itself, a number of artists will be in attendance, which Sierzputowski says tends to be rare.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tends. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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