Bending

bend ¹  (bnd)

v. bent (bnt), bend·ing, bends

v.tr.

1. To bring (something) into a state of tension: bend a bow.

2.

a. To cause to assume a curved or angular shape: bend a piece of iron into a horseshoe.

b. To force to assume a different direction or shape, according to one's own purpose: "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events" (Robert F. Kennedy).

c. To misrepresent; distort: bend the truth.

d. To relax or make an exception to: bend a rule to allow more members into the club.

3. To cause to swerve from a straight line; deflect.

4. To render submissive; subdue.

5. To apply (the mind) closely: "The weary naval officer goes to bed at night having bent his brain all day to a scheme of victory" (Jack Beatty).

6. Nautical To fasten: bend a mainsail onto the boom.

v.intr.

1.

a. To deviate from a straight line or position: The lane bends to the right at the bridge.

b. To assume a curved, crooked, or angular form or direction: The saplings bent in the wind.

2. To incline the body; stoop.

3. To make a concession; yield.

4. To apply oneself closely; concentrate: She bent to her task.

n.

1.

a. The act or fact of bending.

b. The state of being bent.

2. Something bent: a bend in the road.

3. bends Nautical The thick planks in a ship's side; wales.

4. bends (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Decompression sickness. Used with the.

Idioms:

around the bend Slang

Insane; crazy.

bend (one's) elbow Slang

To drink alcoholic beverages.

bend out of shape Slang

To annoy or anger.

bend/lean over backward

To make an effort greater than is required.

bend (someone's) ear Slang

To talk to at length, usually excessively.

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[Middle English benden, from Old English bendan; see bhendh- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: bend¹, crook¹, curve, round¹
These verbs mean to swerve or cause to swerve from a straight line: bent his knees and knelt; crooked an arm around the package; claws that curve under; rounding the lips to articulate an "o"

Antonym: straighten

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bend ²  (bnd)

n.

1. Heraldry A band passing from the upper dexter corner of an escutcheon to the lower sinister corner.

2. Nautical A knot that joins a rope to a rope or another object.

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[Middle English, from Old English bend, band, and from Old French bende, bande, band (of Germanic origin; see bhendh- in Indo-European roots).]

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Bending/Bent 

1. As crooked as a corkscrew —George Kaufman and Moss Hart
2. As crooked as a dog’s elbow —F. T. Elworthy
3. As crooked as a ram’s horn —Charles Caleb Colton
4. Bending from the waist as if he was going to close up like a jackknife —John Dos Passos
5. Bend like a finger joint —Charles Wright
6. Bend like sheets of tin —Palmer Cox
7. Bends with her laugh … like a rubber stick being shaken —Alice McDermott
8. Bent as a country lane —John Wainwright
9. Bent double like a tree in a high wind —Caryl Phillips
10. Bent down like violets after rain —Thomas Bailey Aldrich
11. Bent like a birch ice-laden —James Agee
12. Bent like a bow —Aharon Megged

    A variation on the bent bow image from William Mcllvanney’s novel, Laidlow: “Arching his body like a bow.”

13. Bent like a broken flower —Algernon Charles Swinburne
14. Bent like a rainbow —Robert Southey

    Another way to express this image is to be “Bent like a rainbow arch.”

15. Bent … like a soldier at the approach of an assault —Victor Hugo
16. Bent like a wishbone —William Kennedy
17. Bent slightly like a man who has been shot but continues to stand —Flannery O’Connor
18. (The headwaiter) bowed like a poppy in the breeze —Ogden Nash
19. Bows down like a willow tree in a storm —Erich Maria Remarque
20. Coiled like a fetus —William H. Gass

    A variation by Derek Lambert:“Curled up like a bulky fetus.”

21. Coiled up like the letter ‘S’ —Damon Runyon
22. Crooked like a comma —Sharon Sheehe Stark
23. Curled himself like a comma into the waiting cab —William H. Hallhan
24. Curled like a ball —Sterling Hayden
25. Curled up in a ball like a wet puppy —Amos Oz
26. Curled up [in sleeping position] like a fist around an egg —Leonard Michaels
27. Curled up like a gun-dog —Colette
28. (Bent over your books) curled up like a porcupine with a bellyache —Marge Piercy
29. Curled up like fried bacon —Anon
30. Curling up like a small animal —Nina Bawden
31. Curling up like burning cardboard —Lawrence Durrell
32. [A cat] curls up like a dormer mouse —Jayne Anne Phillips
33. Drooped like a flower in the frost —John Greenleaf Whittier
34. Folded over like a ruler from the waist —William H. Gass
35. Folded up, like a marionette with cheap wooden hinges, and sat down —Graham Masterton
36. (Never will I be) gibbous like the moon —Diane Ackerman
37. Lean forward like firemen pulling a hose —Miller Williams
38. Tilting like a paper cutout —Susan Minot
39. Twisted as an old paint tube —Fannie Hurst
40. A very old lady, her back curved over like a snail’s —Daphne Merkin

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	bending - movement that causes the formation of a curve bend motion, movement - a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something deflexion, refraction, deflection - the amount by which a propagating wave is bent
	2.	bending - the property of being bent or deflected deflexion, deflection physical property - any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions wind deflection, windage - the deflection of a projectile resulting from the effects of wind refractiveness, refractivity - the physical property of a medium as determined by its index of refraction
	3.	bending - the act of bending something change of shape - an action that changes the shape of something flexion, flexure - act of bending a joint; especially a joint between the bones of a limb so that the angle between them is decreased crouch - the act of bending low with the limbs close to the body hunch - the act of bending yourself into a humped position incurvation - the action of creating a curved shape