# fence

Pronunciation: say "FENS" /fɛns/

## Noun

1. A thin artificial barrier that separates two areas of land or encloses the grounds of a house or building.
   - Simple: A barrier made of wood, wire, or metal that marks off or encloses a piece of land.
   - _The farmer repaired the fence between his property and the neighbor's field._
   - _A tall fence surrounds the construction site to keep people out._
4. A criminal middleman who hides, buys, or sells stolen goods on behalf of thieves. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who buys and sells stolen goods for thieves.
   - _The stolen paintings passed through a fence before reaching collectors._
   - _Detectives tracked the burglary back to a local fence._
6. A barrier of any kind, such as an emotional one that keeps people from connecting.
   - Simple: A barrier that keeps people apart, especially an emotional one.
   - _He kept an emotional fence between himself and his coworkers._
   - _Grief raised a fence around her that no one could cross._
8. A guard or guide attached to a machine or tool that keeps the workpiece in the correct position.
   - Simple: A part on a machine or tool that guides or stops a piece of wood or metal.
   - _Adjust the fence on the table saw before making the cut._
   - _The router's fence kept each groove perfectly parallel._
10. In cricket, the boundary marking the limit of the playing field, often a rope or barrier.
   - Simple: In cricket, the line or barrier at the edge of the playing field.
   - _The batsman drove the ball hard against the fence for four runs._
   - _She chased the ball down before it reached the fence._
12. In computing, an operation that forces memory reads and writes to complete in a set order.
   - Simple: In computing, an instruction that controls the order in which memory operations happen.
   - _The compiler inserts a fence to prevent the instructions from being reordered._
   - _A memory fence ensures one thread sees the other thread's writes._
13. The location from which a dealer in stolen goods operates.
   - Simple: A place where stolen goods are bought, sold, or hidden.
   - _Detectives staked out the fence where the stolen goods changed hands._
   - _The shop served as a fence for burglars across the city._
14. Skill in arguing a case or holding one's own in spoken debate.
   - Simple: Skill at arguing or debating with words.
   - _The lawyer's verbal fence left the witness contradicting himself._
   - _Skilled in fence, she turned every objection back on her opponent._

## Verb

2. To enclose, contain, or separate an area by building a barrier around it.
   - Simple: To surround an area with a barrier in order to enclose or separate it.
   - _The city plans to fence the reservoir for public safety._
   - _Settlers fenced the open range, ending the era of free grazing._
3. To take part in the sport of fencing, fighting an opponent with a sword such as a foil, épée, or saber.
   - Simple: To take part in the sport of fighting with thin swords.
   - _She trained for years to fence competitively._
   - _Members of the team fence in tournaments across the country._
5. To buy or sell stolen goods, acting as a middleman between thieves and buyers.
   - Simple: To buy or sell stolen goods for the people who stole them.
   - _The gang fenced the electronics through a string of small shops._
   - _He was caught trying to fence stolen artwork overseas._
7. To defend or guard someone or something against attack or harm.
   - Simple: To protect or guard someone or something from harm.
   - _The bodyguards fenced the senator from the angry crowd._
   - _Soldiers were trained to fence the borders from invaders._
9. Of a horse and rider, to jump over the fences set out on a course.
   - Simple: To jump over a fence, as a horse does.
   - _The mare fenced cleanly through the entire course._
   - _Riders must fence in rhythm to keep their horses balanced._
11. To avoid telling the truth by giving vague or evasive answers.
   - Simple: To avoid giving a clear answer in order to hide the truth.
   - _Witnesses often fence when they fear incriminating themselves._
   - _She fenced with the reporters instead of answering directly._

## Noun

15. The art or practice of fighting with a sword; swordsmanship. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The art or skill of fighting with swords.
   - _The young nobleman trained daily in fence with the court's best teacher._
   - _A master of fence, he disarmed every challenger._

## Origin

"Fence" comes from Middle English fence or fens, a short form of "defence", which came from Old French defens or defense. The meaning "enclosure" arose in the mid 15th century, and the verb sense "to enclose with a fence" also from the 15th century, while "to fight with swords" dates from the 1590s. It displaced the native Old English word heġe (compare Modern English "hedge").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fence (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).