bends

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present tense of bend. Use this form with he, she, or it.

   She bends down to tie her shoes.

   The road bends sharply near the river.

   Note
2. 2
   noun

   Plural of bend. Use this when you mean more than one bend or curve.

   The mountain road has many sharp bends.

   We slowed down for the bends in the path.

   Note
3. 3
   nounplural

   A painful sickness that divers get when they come up from deep water too fast.

   Like opening a soda bottle: bubbles suddenly appear when the pressure is let off.

   Divers who surface too quickly can get the bends.

   The bends left him with terrible pain in his joints.

   Note
4. 4
   nouncountableplural

   The thickest, strongest wooden boards along the sides of an old sailing ship.

   Like the strong wooden beams that hold up the frame of a house.

   The bends on the old ship were cut from thick oak.

   Workers replaced the rotten bends along the ship's side.

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   Note

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