fence

Pluralfences

Formsfences, fencing, fenced

1. 1
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A thin artificial barrier that separates two areas of land or encloses the grounds of a house or building.

   The farmer repaired the fence between his property and the neighbor's field.

   A tall fence surrounds the construction site to keep people out.

   Similarbarrier, railing, palisade

   Note

   The everyday barrier began as a word for protection. Middle English fence was a clipped form of defens, "the act of defending," from Old French defense. The meaning "enclosure" appears in the mid-15th century, and so does the verb for enclosing land. It works both as a count noun (two fences, wire fences) and as a mass noun for the barrier in general, as in a long stretch of fence.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To enclose, contain, or separate an area by building a barrier around it.

   The city plans to fence the reservoir for public safety.

   Settlers fenced the open range, ending the era of free grazing.

   Similarenclose, surround, wall

   Note

   The verb is nearly as old as the enclosing noun, since both date from the fifteenth century. It often takes a particle: Shakespeare's As You Like It (1599) has a sheep-cote "fenc'd about with olive trees." Today in, off and out do that work: you fence land in, fence a hazard off, fence intruders out. It can also stand bare, as in George A. Smith's 1856 advice to "fence and cultivate" twenty acres.

3. 3
   verbintransitive

   To take part in the sport of fencing, fighting an opponent with a sword such as a foil, épée, or saber.

   She trained for years to fence competitively.

   Members of the team fence in tournaments across the country.

   Note

   A sports verb that takes no direct object. You fence, or fence with a foil, but you do not fence an opponent. In Rafael Sabatini's Scaramouche (1921), men of the robe can fence only "with a quill," and that image shows how easily swordplay turns into argument. The same step links this sense to skill in debate and to evasive answering.

4. 4
   nouncolloquialcountable or uncountable

   A criminal middleman who hides, buys, or sells stolen goods on behalf of thieves.

   The stolen paintings passed through a fence before reaching collectors.

   Detectives tracked the burglary back to a local fence.

   Similarfencer

   Note

   A criminal's word that has moved with the times. Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood's The Bat (1926) puts noun and verb side by side: the Bat "fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face." William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) gives the trade a fence dealing "primarily in software." Fencer is a synonym, and the verb names the dealing itself.

5. 5
   verbtransitive

   To buy or sell stolen goods, acting as a middleman between thieves and buyers.

   The gang fenced the electronics through a string of small shops.

   He was caught trying to fence stolen artwork overseas.

   Similarsell, offload

6. 6
   nounfigurativelycountable or uncountable

   A barrier of any kind, such as an emotional one that keeps people from connecting.

   He kept an emotional fence between himself and his coworkers.

   Grief raised a fence around her that no one could cross.

   Similarbarrier, wall

7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To defend or guard someone or something against attack or harm.

   The bodyguards fenced the senator from the angry crowd.

   Soldiers were trained to fence the borders from invaders.

   Similarshield, guard, protect, defend

   Note

   Here the old idea of protection, the clipped defense behind the garden barrier, is closest to the surface. Marlowe writes in 1594 that "our hands I hope shall fence our heads," and in Milton's Paradise Regain'd (1671) a speaker will "fence my ear against thy sorceries." The usual pattern is fence something against a threat. What is guarded can be the mind or the senses as readily as the body.

8. 8
   nouncountable or uncountable

   A guard or guide attached to a machine or tool that keeps the workpiece in the correct position.

   Adjust the fence on the table saw before making the cut.

   The router's fence kept each groove perfectly parallel.

   Similarguide

9. 9
   verbintransitive

   Of a horse and rider, to jump over the fences set out on a course.

   The mare fenced cleanly through the entire course.

   Riders must fence in rhythm to keep their horses balanced.

   Similarjump

   Note

   Riders turn the obstacle into the action. In show jumping and eventing, every obstacle set out on a course is a fence, so a horse that fences well simply jumps well. The verb takes no object: a horse fences, but it does not fence an obstacle. Either the horse or the rider can be its subject.

10. 10
    nouncountable or uncountable

    In cricket, the boundary marking the limit of the playing field, often a rope or barrier.

    The batsman drove the ball hard against the fence for four runs.

    She chased the ball down before it reached the fence.

    Similarboundary, rope

    Note

    Cricket uses fence for the edge of the field, whether that edge is a rope or a barrier. A ball that reaches it along the ground scores four runs. One that clears it on the full scores six. You hear of a shot racing to the fence or sailing over the fence, and here fence and boundary are interchangeable.

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