Something bendable can be curved or folded without breaking. A rubber hose is bendable because you can curve it around corners. A piece of paper is bendable, which is why you can fold it into an airplane. A bendable drinking straw has a special section that lets you angle it toward your mouth.

Materials have different levels of bendability. Fresh tree branches are bendable enough to weave into baskets, while dry branches snap. Warm plastic becomes more bendable than cold plastic, which is why manufacturers heat it before shaping it into toys or containers. Steel is strong but still bendable, which is why workers can form it into car frames or building structures.

The opposite of bendable is rigid or stiff. A bendable plastic ruler can curve to measure around objects, while a rigid wooden ruler cannot. Engineers choose bendable materials when they need things to flex, like the soles of running shoes or the wings of airplanes, which actually bend slightly during flight to handle wind pressure.