shape or force (something straight) into a curve or angle

the wire has to be bent back tightly

(of a person) incline the body downwards from the vertical

she bent down and yanked out the flex

I bent over my plate

force or be forced to submit

they want to bend me to their will

a refusal to bend to mob rule

direct (one's attention or energies) to a task

Eric bent all his efforts to persuading them to donate some blankets

she bent once more to the task of diverting her guests

attach (a sail or cable) by means of a knot

sailors were bending sails to the spars

a curve in a road, river, path, or racing circuit

the van screeched round a bend

a bend in the river

a curved or angled part of something

make a bend in the wire

a kind of knot used to join two ropes together, or to tie a rope to another object, e.g. a carrick bend

decompression sickness, especially in divers

an ordinary in the form of a broad diagonal stripe from top left (dexter chief) to bottom right (sinister base) of a shield or part of one

a narrow bend, either dexter or sinister, lying across the other charges on a shield

ermine, on a bend sable