To bend means to change something from a straight line into a curve or angle. When you bend a paperclip, you use your fingers to reshape the wire. When a road bends to the left, it curves instead of continuing straight ahead. Your knees, elbows, and fingers all bend at joints, allowing you to move in ways that would be impossible with completely rigid limbs.

Bending takes some flexibility. A fresh green twig bends easily without breaking, but a dry, brittle one snaps. Metal can bend under heat or pressure. Gymnasts and dancers train their bodies to bend in impressive ways. When something refuses to bend at all, we call it rigid or inflexible.

The word also describes changing or adjusting rules or facts. Someone might bend the truth by leaving out important details without actually lying. A teacher might bend the rules by allowing extra time on an assignment for a student who was sick. There's an old saying that “a tree that bends in the wind survives the storm,” meaning that being too rigid and never compromising can cause bigger problems than being willing to adjust when necessary.

A bend can be a noun too: a bend in a river, or going around the bend in a road.