# intend

Pronunciation: say "in-TEND" /ɪnˈtɛnd/

## Verb

1. To have something in mind as a plan or purpose; to mean to do something.
   - Simple: To plan or mean to do something.
   - _Reformers intend a complete overhaul of the tax system._
   - _She intends to master the cello before she turns thirty._
2. To have a particular person, purpose or use in mind for something, often in the passive with for or as.
   - Simple: To plan for something to be used by a certain person or in a certain way.
   - _The architects intend the new wing for research labs, not lecture halls._
   - _His remark was intended as a joke, but nobody at the table laughed._

## Verb

3. To stretch out so as to extend or distend; to swell or expand. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To stretch something out so it spreads or swells.
4. To intensify or strengthen something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make something stronger or more intense.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To give one's attention to something, or to look after, manage, and oversee it.
- (verb) To apply oneself or one's energies forcefully to a task.
- (verb) To direct or turn one's course or journey toward a particular destination.
- (verb) To pretend, counterfeit, or simulate something.
- (verb) To design, shape, or fashion something, whether mechanically or artistically.
- (verb) To strain something or make it tense; to stretch it tight.

## Origin

It comes from Middle English intenden, borrowed from Old French entendre, from Latin intendō, intendere. It largely replaced the native Old English word myntan ("to mean, intend; to think"), and it is a doublet of entendre.

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