DictionaryAI

tender

TEN-dur/ˈtɛn.dɚ/UKTEN-duh/ˈtɛn.də(ɹ)/

Adjectivetenderer, tenderest

Verbtenders, tendering, tendered

Noun pluraltenders

23 meanings of tender

Practice

  1. 1
    easy to chewadjective
    Soft and easily chewed.

    The roast came out tender and juicy after hours in the oven.

    Simmer the beans until they are tender enough to mash.

    Similarsoft, succulent

    Oppositetough, chewy

  2. 2
    adjective
    Showing or expressing gentleness, affection, and kind feeling; of a scene, song, or story, gently moving and stirring soft emotions.

    They shared a tender embrace before he boarded the train.

    Her letters were full of tender words for the friends she had left behind.

    UsageCommon in tender loving care, often shortened to TLC.

    Similargentle, loving, affectionate, fond, warm

    Oppositeharsh, cold, unkind

    Note

    Affection here often shades into indulgence. In Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, those who are "so tender o'er his follies" are too soft on a man to do him any good. Said of a song or a film scene, it means one that stirs soft feelings. The King James Bible of 1611 supplies the fixed pairing tender mercy.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The quotation occurs in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and criticizes indulgence toward a man; Paulina addresses the lords about Leontes. folger.edu
    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikipedia.org
    • The King James Bible contains the pairing tender mercy. en.wikisource.org
  3. 3
    soreadjective
    Sensitive or painful when touched.

    The doctor pressed the swollen joint, which was tender to the touch.

    After the surgery, the area around the stitches remained tender for weeks.

    UsageOften tender to the touch, and said of a body part rather than a whole person.

    Similarsore, painful, sensitive

    Note

    Here the softness has become soreness: a bruise, a healing wound, a spot that hurts when pressed. Doctors ask whether a spot is tender when they press it, and a bruise can stay tender long after it fades.

  4. 4
    present formallyverbformaltransitive
    To offer or give something, especially in a formal manner.

    He rose to tender his apologies to the assembled guests.

    Officials may tender their resignations when a scandal breaks.

    UsageMost often tender your resignation, or tender an apology. In everyday talk, offer is usual.

    Similaroffer, submit, present, proffer

    Oppositewithdraw

    Note

    Formal writing uses the verb for handing something over with ceremony, and its classic object is a resignation. Older usage tendered almost anything courteous. The 1864 letter to Mrs. Bixby, signed by Abraham Lincoln, tenders "the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic." Motion Picture News in 1920 ran "Hank Mann Tenders You Holiday Greetings."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  5. 5
    nouncountable
    A formal offer put forward for acceptance, especially a bid to supply goods, do work, or buy or sell something at a stated price.

    The council reviewed every tender before awarding the contract.

    Each tender had to be sealed and submitted by Friday afternoon.

    UsageUsually submit a tender for a contract.

    Similarbid, offer, proposal, quotation

    Note

    Contract law gives the word its sharpest edge. A tender usually answers an invitation and names a price, and once it is accepted it can form a binding agreement.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  6. 6
    payment methodnoununcountable
    A means of payment such as cash, a check, or a credit card.

    The store accepts almost any tender, from contactless cards to cash.

    Cash remains the most common tender at the weekend market.

    UsageCommon in legal tender, money recognized by law as valid payment for debts.

    Similarpayment, currency

    Note

    Money counts as a tender because it is what you hold out at the counter. In shop talk, the noun covers any form of payment, as when a customer whose card is declined is asked for "some other tender such as cash."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The payment sense is connected etymologically with offering or holding something out. en.wikipedia.org
    • The quoted wording occurs in an illustrative example about a declined credit card. en.wiktionary.org
  7. 7
    cut of chickennouncountable or uncountable
    The inner flight muscle of poultry, a narrow strip lying beneath the breast.

    A careful cook removes the tough tendon from the tender before cooking.

    The tender cooks faster than the surrounding breast meat.

    UsageUsually plural for the strips: chicken tenders.

    Similartenderloin

    Note

    The name probably comes from the adjective, Latin tener, "soft, delicate", tying this cut to meat that is easily chewed, though it may be short for tenderloin. Anatomists call the same muscle the pectoralis minor, the inner of the bird's flight muscles.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The adjective tender ultimately derives from Latin tener, meaning soft or delicate. en.wiktionary.org
    • The tender is the pectoralis minor, an inner flight muscle of poultry. extension.msstate.edu
  8. 8
    young in yearsadjective
    Young and inexperienced.

    The apprentices were of tender years and needed close supervision.

    At such a tender age, he could hardly grasp the consequences of his choice.

    UsageMostly in at the tender age of + an age, and of tender years.

    Similaryoung, early

    Oppositeadvanced, mature

    Note

    Two set phrases carry nearly all its use. The first is at the tender age of, followed by the age itself. The second is of tender years, as in Graham Nash's "Teach Your Children" (1970). The law has borrowed the second: in 2001 an Illinois appeals court applied the tender years doctrine, under which a child younger than seven cannot be found contributorily negligent.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  9. 9
    adjective
    Delicate and easily damaged, bruised, or hurt; of a plant, unable to survive cold or harsh conditions.

    Pack the tender raspberries on top so they don't get crushed in the bag.

    The flesh of the fruit is tender and bruises the moment it is dropped.

    Similardelicate, fragile, soft

    Oppositetough, hardy, robust

  10. 10
    nouncountable
    A boat or ship that attends other vessels, supplying them or carrying people and goods between a larger ship and the shore.

    The destroyer pulled alongside the tender to refuel and rearm.

    A submarine tender anchored in the bay to service the returning boats.

    Note

    Naval usage names the tender by the ships it looks after: a submarine tender serves submarines, and a destroyer tender serves destroyers. It acts as a floating base, supplying fuel, ordnance and repairs to a group of smaller warships. The word also covers a much smaller craft, the launch that ferries passengers and stores between a moored ship and the shore.

  11. 11
    coal carnouncountable
    The car coupled behind a steam locomotive to carry its supply of fuel and water.

    The locomotive's tender ran dry of water before reaching the next station.

    Crews refilled the tender with coal at every major depot.

    Note

    Steam railroading spoke of the engine and tender as a pair: the locomotive did the work, and the car coupled behind it carried the coal and water. Reginald B. Fellows, writing in 1944, quotes an account of a turntable big enough "to turn the engine and tender at once." In Xavier Herbert's Capricornia (1938), a violent stop throws half the coal out of the tender.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • A steam locomotive's tender was a coupled vehicle carrying its fuel and water. en.wikipedia.org
    • Reginald B. Fellows's 1944 article quotes an account describing a turntable capable of turning the engine and tender together; the quoted wording is exact. en.wiktionary.org
    • Xavier Herbert wrote Capricornia, first published in 1938. en.wikipedia.org
    • Capricornia describes a stop so violent that half the coal comes out of the tender. en.wiktionary.org
  12. 12
    put in a bidverbtransitive or intransitive
    To put in a formal bid, offering to buy something or to supply goods or do work at a stated price.

    Three local companies tendered for the contract to repave the main highway through town.

    The city invited cleaning firms to tender for the contract at the new high school.

    UsageUsually tender for a contract or for work.

    Similarbid, offer

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of tender apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–3, 7–9, 13, 15–16, 20

Latin tener, tenerum ("soft, delicate") gave Old French and Anglo-Norman tendre, and Middle English took it as tender.

Meaning 19

From Middle English tender, formed from the adjective tender (see above).

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Meanings 21–22

From Middle English tendren, formed from the adjective tender (see above).

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

  • The verb tender meaning to make tender or regard fondly comes from Middle English tendren, derived from the adjective tender. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 10–11, 14, 17–18

It is the verb tend with the suffix -er, so "one who tends," formed like attender ("one who attends").

Meanings 4–6, 12

From Middle English tendren, from Old French tendre ("stretch out").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts