- 1 [countable] a curve or turn, especially in a road or river a sharp bend in the road You took that bend very fast! Wordfinderriverbend, course, current, dam, downstream, estuary, river, source, tributary, waterfall see also hairpin bend Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivegentle, slight, wide, … … of bendsseries verb + bendcome around, come round, negotiate, … prepositionaround a/the bend, round a/the bend, into a/the bend, … See full entry See related entries: Features of roads, Rivers and lakes
- 2the bends [plural] severe pain and difficulty in breathing experienced by a diver who comes back to the surface of the water too quickly See related entries: Diving Word OriginOld English bendan ‘put in bonds, tension a bow by means of a string’, of Germanic origin; related to band ‘strip of material’.Extra examples He had a winning lead off the final bend. He slowed down to negotiate the bend. I inched the car into the bend. Slow down on the tight bends. Some of the hairpin bends had Ruth clinging to her seat. 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 Round a bend in the river there was the sound of splashing. The two vehicles collided on a sharp bend in the road.Idioms
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BrE BrE//bend//; NAmE NAmE//bend//
Features of roads, Diving, Rivers and lakes(informal) crazy She's gone completely round the bend. The kids have been driving me round the bend today (= annoying me very much). See related entries: Describing strange traits
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