fend off

English

Etymology

fend + off

Verb

fend off (third-person singular simple present fends off, present participle fending off, simple past and past participle fended off)

1. To defend against; to repel with force or effort

   Synonyms: turn away, drive away, ward off

   They tried citronella to fend off the mosquitos, to no avail.

2. (nautical) To prevent (a vessel) from running against anything with too much violence.

Related terms

• defend
• defense
• fend and prove
• fend away
• fender
• fend for oneself
• forfend

 

Translations

to ward off, drive (something) away, defend against

• Azerbaijani: dəf etmək
• Finnish: torjua (fi)
• French: repousser (fr)
• German: abwehren (de)
• Greek: αβαράρω (el) (avaráro)
• Portuguese: repelir (pt), afastar (pt)
• Spanish: repeler (es), ahuyentar (es), alejar (es)
• Turkish: defetmek (tr), kovmak (tr), savuşturmak (tr)

See also

• hold off