bent¹ /bent/ pat and pap of bend

1. Curved
2. Having a bend
3. Intent, determined (on or upon doing something)
4. Morally crooked, or criminal (slang)
5. Homosexual (slang)
6. Sexually deviant (slang)
7. Stolen (slang)
8. Obedient, governed (Spenser)

1. Tendency, trend, inclination
2. Direction
3. Leaning or bias, natural inclination of the mind
4. The extent to which a bow may be bent or a spring wound
5. Capacity of endurance
6. A piece of framework (building)
7. Curvature, curve (obsolete)

to the top of one's bent

To the full measure of one's inclination

bent² /bent/

1. Any stiff or wiry grass
2. The old dried stalks of grasses
3. A genus (Agrostis) of grasses, slender and delicate in appearance, some useful as pasture-grasses and for hay (also bent grass)
4. A place covered with bents, a heath (Scot and N Eng)
5. A hillside

bentˈy adjective

take to the bent (Scot)

To take flight

bend¹ /bend/

1. To force into (or out of) a curved or angled form
2. To curve
3. To bow, turn (the body) downwards
4. To dispose or incline to a point of view
5. To aim or direct (one's attention, etc)
6. To alter or disregard (rules) for one's own purposes
7. To subject (to one's will, etc)
8. To fasten (nautical)
9. To drink hard at (Scot)
10. To subject to tension (obsolete)
11. To brace or bring to tension (obsolete; also figurative)

1. To curve
2. To stoop
3. To bow (down) the body
4. To give way, yield, or show flexibility
5. To turn in a given direction
6. To incline to a point of view
7. To drink hard (Scot)

1. A knot by which a line is tied to another, or to itself after passing through a ring, etc
2. A band, strip
3. A parallel band crossing a shield diagonally from top left to bottom right (a bend-sinˈister a supposed mark of illegitimacy, runs from top right to bottom left; heraldry)
4. An act of bending
5. The state of being bent
6. A bent thing
7. A place of bending
8. A bow or stoop
9. Half a butt of leather cut lengthwise
10. A directing of the eye (Shakespeare)
11. A strengthening band (Spenser)
12. A pull of liquor, or a drinking bout (Scot)

bendˈable adjective

bendˈed adjective

(only in on bended knee)

bendˈee adjective (heraldry)

Bendy

bendˈer noun

1. A person or machine which bends
2. A (drunken) spree (slang)
3. A male homosexual (slang)
4. A temporary shelter consisting of a shell of woven branches covered with tarpaulins or plastic sheeting (informal)
5. A sixpence (obs sl)
6. A thing very large or fine of its kind (dialect)

bendˈing noun and adjective

bendˈingly adverb

bendˈlet noun (heraldry)

A half-width bend

bendˈwise adverb (heraldry)

Diagonally

bendˈy adjective

1. Divided into bends (heraldry)
2. Full of or characterized by curves or bends
3. Flexible (informal)

bent noun and adjective see bent¹

bend-sinˈister noun

See above

bentˈwood noun

Wood artificially curved for chair-making, etc (also adjective)

bend over backwards see under back¹

round the bend (informal)

Crazy, mad

the bends

1. Decompression sickness, also known as caisson disease
2. Aeroembolism

• majorettes
• majoretting
• majorettings
• major-general
• major-generalcy
• major-generals
• major-generalship
• major histocompatibility complex
• majoring
• Majorism
• majoritaire
• majoritaires
• Majorite
• majorities
• majority
• majority carrier
• majority carriers
• majority rule
• majority verdict
• majority verdicts
• major key
• major keys
• majorly
• Major Mitchell
• major mode