tending 1 of 3

adjective

as in prone
having a tendency to be or act in a certain way people tending toward daily exercise will significantly reduce their risk of cardiac arrest

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tending

2 of 3

verb (1)

present participle of tend
as in leaning
to show a liking or proneness (for something) her wardrobe tends toward dark colors and heavy fabrics

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tending

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of tend
1
as in supervising
to take charge of especially on behalf of another tend the store while I run an errand

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2
as in growing
to look after or assist the growth of by labor and care lately I haven't been doing a good job of tending my garden

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3
as in cultivating
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on plots that during the war were tended by city dwellers as vegetable gardens

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4
as in managing
to look after and make decisions about the dying patriarch wondered who would tend the family business after he was gone

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tending
Verb
Best Amazon End-of-Season Gardening and Lawn Deals Your days tending to the garden may be coming to an end, but there’s no better time to re-up on green-thumb essentials than now. — Maria Conti, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2026 By how his wife took charge of his care, while tending to their two small children, right to the end. — Michael Collins, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 Her duties include reading slush-pile submissions, making coffee, and tending to the needs of high-profile guests during Platen’s many exclusive fêtes. — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026 The shepherd’s rod and staff, tools used in tending and protecting sheep, reinforce the sense of security. — Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Aug. 2026 For someone working a typical weekday, Freebairn suggests feeding the starter before bed, mixing the dough over morning coffee and tending to it while the kids are having breakfast. — Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 24 Aug. 2026 Billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Alexis Ohanian have effectively dubbed themselves amateur yeoman, putting the ultrarichs’ hobby of tending to the land in the spotlight. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026 Cultivating tradition Hours down a narrow, mountainous footpath, Reynalda García Juárez is tending to those roots, quite literally. — Alfredo Sosa, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2026 Glacier National Park rangers had been tending to Ken when a Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter arrived. — Adam England, PEOPLE, 21 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tending
  1. prone
  2. leaning
  3. supervising
  4. growing
  5. cultivating
  6. managing
  7. inclined
  8. watching
Adjective
  • The main concern from Edouard in the always flood-prone Houston metro area is heavy rain and the flooding that follows, the National Weather Service in Houston said.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The tortuous regulatory system that is hostile to new nuclear plants makes the commercial process expensive, slow, and prone to legal challenges.
    — David Szondy August 31, New Atlas, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of prone
Verb
  • Alonso is leaning into Chelsea’s strength — the transitional attacking power of his front three — and working on protecting the weakness, giving up too much space for his team to defend.
    — Jon Mackenzie, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Seen in profile or three-quarters from behind, the artist is seated, leaning toward the sheet.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of leaning
Verb
  • The jumper who was supervising the box that day, Joey Cowen, confirmed the request.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • While not directly involved in controlling the system, humans give Spike rules of engagement all the while, supervising the entire system during operation.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of supervising
Verb
  • Semiconductor investment expected to climb China’s semiconductor capital expenditure is expected to continue growing at double-digit annual rates through the end of the decade, reaching $82 billion in 2030, according to Goldman.
    — Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Instead, the chief executive said Hilton's middle- and upper-middle segments have swung from posting negative numbers to growing at rates as high as 6%.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of growing
Verb
  • The intervention of Allied troops on the White Russian side in the Russian Civil War deepened Bolshevik paranoia, and Bolshevik leaders concluded that hostile powers would always seek to destroy Russia by cultivating internal enemies.
    — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
  • According to royal insider Rob Shuter, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very interested in cultivating a close relationship with Charles.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of cultivating
Verb
  • Having a healthy lawn means managing soil conditions for the roots, mowing properly, and strengthening the density of the grass by overseeding.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Asked about their firm’s primary hurdle in managing the current trade landscape, the vast majority (57 percent) said policy uncertainty, like tariffs changing with little notice, as their foremost challenge.
    — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of managing
Adjective
  • The post also includes vintage photos of each artist as musically inclined children.
    — Katie Bain, Billboard, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Elizabeth, less inclined to anatomize herself in writing, remains the more mysterious force.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of inclined
Verb
  • Instead, he’s spent August anxiously watching the orange skies from his house in the northern Nevada hills through two consecutive and adjacent wild-land fires, the Bug and Hawk Fires.
    — Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Owen Wolff, 21, was just a small child back then, watching his father play for MLS glory and represent America with the United States Men’s National Team.
    — PJ Green August 28, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of watching

Browse Nearby Words

tenders
tending
tending (to)
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Cite this Entry

“Tending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tending. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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