bend
verb uk/bend/ us/bend/ bent | bent
(CURVE)
B2 [ I or T ]（使）弯曲
to (cause to) curve
The road bends to the left after the traffic lights. 过了第一个红绿灯后道路弯向左侧。
B2 弯腰
to move your body or part of your body so that it is not straight
I bent down and picked up the coins lying on the road. 我弯腰捡起路上的硬币。
Now, bend forward/over and touch your toes! 现在，向前弯腰触摸脚趾。
Make sure you bend your knees when you're picking up heavy objects. 提重物时一定要屈膝。
After her fall she complained that she couldn't bend her leg properly. 摔了一跤之后，她说她的腿不能正常弯曲了。
on bended knee 单腿跪地
in a position in which the knee of one leg is touching the floor
He went down on bended knee to ask her to marry him. 他单腿跪地向她求婚。
He expects politicians to go to him on bended knee for approval.
She prayed on bended knee for forgiveness.
They got down on bended knee and begged him to withdraw his candidacy.
John proposed to me on bended knee in the middle of Central Park.
- More examples
- Light rays bend as they pass from air to water.
- You'll snap that ruler if you bend it too far.
- the point where the road bends
- His new trousers ripped when he bent down.
- I bent down and picked up the coins lying on the road.
Idioms
bend someone's earidiom informal 对…唠叨诉苦
to talk to someone for a long time, especially about a problem, or to ask for something
bend the law/rulesidiom 变通，通融；放松规定
to change the rules in a way that is considered to be not important or not harmful
Can't you bend the rules a little? I was only a few minutes late. 你就不能稍微变通一下吗？我只不过迟到了几分钟而已。
Phrasal verb
bend to something 屈从，屈服于
to unwillingly accept the opinions or decisions of other people
The city council was forced to bend to public pressure. 地方政务委员会被迫屈从于公众压力。
bend
noun uk/bend/ us/bend/
(CURVE)
B2 [ C ]弯曲处
a curved part of something
There's a bend in the pipe so you can't see from one end to the other. 管子是弯的，所以你无法从一头看到另一头。
The car came around the bend on the wrong side of the road. 汽车在拐弯时驶错了方向。
[ U ]（足球比赛中的）弧线球，香蕉球
in football, the curve in which a ball moves when it has been kicked in a particular way
Good players can put bend on the ball. 好的运动员能够踢出弧线球。
- More examples
- He came off the road while driving his car around a bend at high speed .
- The river broadens out around the next bend.
- Be careful when you're cycling because there are several sharp bends along the route.
- The children are practising writing letters with lots of bends in them, like 's' and 'm'.
- Why does your cat have that funny little bend in her tail?
(ILLNESS)
the bends [ plural ] 潜函病，减压病
a serious medical condition that divers (= people who swim underwater) get when they come up to the surface of the water too quickly
On the way up, divers stop at various depths in order to prevent the bends.
Many of the men who dive here for a living suffer from the bends.
I had worked as a diver for over a decade before I got the bends.
The bends affect the nerve endings very badly.
The bends, caused by decompressing too fast, can be fatal.
Idioms
drive someone around the bendidiom informal (UK also send someone round the bend)C2 使…厌烦;使…生气
to make someone very bored or very angry
My mother's been driving me around the bend. 我妈妈一直让我感到厌烦。
Staying at home all day was driving her around the bend. 整天呆在家里，快把她憋疯了。
around the bendidiom UK informal 发疯，神志不清
mentally confused or unable to act in a reasonable way
If I'd stayed there any longer I'd have gone around the bend. 如果我在那地方呆的时间更长一些，我就已经发疯了。