tenders

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of tender.

   Two steam tenders trailed behind the locomotives, loaded with coal and water.

   The committee reviewed all the tenders before awarding the contract to the lowest bidder.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the concrete senses: railroad cars that carry a steam engine's fuel and water, naval ships that serve as mobile bases for other ships, and small boats that ferry people between a large ship and the shore. It also counts pieces of the inner flight muscle of poultry. The obsolete senses, care and an attendant, rarely call for it, and the same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of tender.

   The company formally tenders its bid before the Friday deadline each quarter.

   He tenders an apology so smoothly that no one questions his sincerity.

   Note

   Most present-day uses come from the offering senses. A firm tenders a bid or a payment, and a person tenders an apology, in a formal tone rather than an everyday one. The archaic meanings, to weaken something or to regard someone fondly, belong to older writing and are best left there. One narrow use is occupational: someone who works on a tender, such as a supply boat or a fuel car, tenders.

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