a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter friends of the Boston Symphony.
a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?
a member of the same nation, party, etc.
Friend,a member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker: The religious practices of Friends are founded in direct communion with God.
a person associated with another as a contact on a social media website: We've never met, but we're Facebook friends.
verb (used with object)
Rare. to befriend.
to add (a person) to one's list of contacts on a social media website: I just friended a couple of guys in my class.
Idioms for friend
make friends with, to enter into friendly relations with; become a friend to.
Origin of friend
First recorded before 900; Middle English friend, frend, Old English frēond “friend, lover, relative” (cognate with Old Saxon friund, Old High German friunt (German Freund ), Gothic frijōnds ), originally the present participle of frēogan, cognate with Gothic frijōn “to love”
SYNONYMS FOR friend
1 comrade, chum, crony, confidant.
2 backer, advocate.
4 ally, associate, confrere, compatriot.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR friend ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR friend
1, 4 enemy, foe.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR friend ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for friend
1. See acquaintance.
historical usage of friend
Friend and fiend have identical formations: They are both in origin present participles used as nouns, Old English frēond (also frīend ) for friend, and fēond (also fīend ) for fiend. The two nouns even occur together in Old English alliterative verse: Se fēond and se frēond “the fiend and the friend.” Frēond “friend, close acquaintance” has many cognates in Germanic: Old Frisian friūnd, Old Dutch friunt, Old High German friunt, German Freund, Gothic frijonds.Frēond comes from the Old English verb frēogan (also frēon ) “to love, free, set free,” and is a derivative of the Germanic root fri-, frī- (and suffixed form frija- ), which is also the source of English free (the progression of senses is “beloved,” then “one of the loved ones,” then “one not a slave, free”). Old English fēond originally meant “enemy, foe” (and so was the opposite of friend ), and especially in Old English poetry, “Satan, the Devil” (in Beowulf the devil is referred to as fēond moncynnes “the enemy of mankind”). Fēond has many cognates in Germanic: Old Frisian fiand, Dutch vijand, German Feind, all meaning “enemy.” Fēond comes from the Old English verb fēogan “to hate,” from a Germanic root fī - (from a very complicated Proto-Indo-European root pē-, pēi-, pī- “to hurt, harm”). Etymologically speaking, then, friend and fiend are acquaintances, and not relatives.
Those who live off campus and don’t plan on coming back to visit campus to, say, hang out with their friends don’t have to get tested.
Even the most cautious schools are seeing outbreaks|Sy Mukherjee|September 17, 2020|Fortune
Paul brushed him off because several friends had already started the process to see if they could be his donor, but each backed out.
A Welcome Lifeline|Washington Regional Transplant Community|September 17, 2020|Washington Blade
Trina advised those watching to check in with their friends who appear to be okay.
Trina Braxton To David Adefeso: ‘When You Attack One, You Attack Us All’|Hope Wright|September 17, 2020|Essence.com
Among other things, McCarthy said investigators learned that Ziona and LeBlond had been friends since the two were in middle school and that they remained friends after Ziona transitioned as a woman.
Md. man charged in 2015 trans murder sentenced to 35 years|Lou Chibbaro Jr.|September 17, 2020|Washington Blade
A couple years ago my friends were comparing step counts when they asked about mine.
Why I’m caving and finally buying an Apple Watch|rhhackettfortune|September 16, 2020|Fortune
In an email exchange a friend said many had repeated this same succinct review but they could never elaborate.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The two strengthened ties over the years and now Krauss considers Epstein a “close” and “considerate” friend.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Detectives with a fugitive task force caught up with Polanco and a friend on a Bronx street in the early afternoon.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“JSwipe is currently under heavy load,” flashed across the screen, one night as a friend and I looked at it.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The gentleman was listed as Orthodox and kosher, which is way too religious for my friend whose JSwipe account I was test-driving.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That he had some notice of what was to be expected from that quarter, appears by the following letter to his friend, Mr. Becher.
Life of Lord Byron, Vol. I. (of VI.)|Thomas Moore
This, then, is the man who has undertaken to crush my friend Lecour on the question of extraction!
The False Chevalier|William Douw Lighthall
The women and children were being hurried to the ships, and two ladies were hastening past my friend.
The Angel and the Author - and Others|Jerome K. Jerome
I agree with my friend that we will pay a visit to Mr. A. at two in the morning.
Arrows of the Chace, v. 2|John Ruskin
She saw Mrs. Leslie coming to the window with her friend, and nerved herself for the ordeal.
Guy Kenmore's Wife and The Rose and the Lily|Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller
British Dictionary definitions for friend (1 of 3)
friend
/ (frɛnd) /
noun
a person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate