BENDS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bends mean? 

• BENDS (noun)
  The noun BENDS has 1 sense:

1. pain resulting from rapid change in pressure

  Familiarity information: BENDS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BENDS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Pain resulting from rapid change in pressure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

aeroembolism; air embolism; bends; caisson disease; decompression sickness; gas embolism

Hypernyms ("bends" is a kind of...):

illness; malady; sickness; unwellness (impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism)

 Context examples 

A great moth goes humming by me; it alights on a plant at Mr. Rochester's foot: he sees it, and bends to examine it.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The anterior portion of the corpus callosum that bends downward and backward.

(Genu of the Corpus Callosum, NCI Thesaurus)

There were many bends, and he was compelled to step over it often.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Rosa bends over her, and calls to her, “Mr. Copperfield.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Other structures of the knee joint include the upper part of the fibula, located below and parallel to the tibia, and the patella which moves as the knee bends.

(Knee Joint, NCI Thesaurus)

Gravitational microlensing occurs when the gravity of a foreground star bends and amplifies the light of a background star that momentarily aligns with it.

(Hubble Finds Planet Orbiting Pair of Stars, NASA)

HMG2 is an acidic chromatin-associated protein that bends DNA, alters chromatin structure and alters the accessibility of genes for transcription.

(Granzyme A Mediated Apoptosis Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

The HMG-Box Domain binds to and bends the minor groove of the DNA.

(HMG-Box, NCI Thesaurus)

Ere they returned to camp he knew enough to stop at “ho,” to go ahead at “mush,” to swing wide on the bends, and to keep clear of the wheeler when the loaded sled shot downhill at their heels.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Yet, researchers say that many technologies — from stretchable electronics to tiny robots so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye — require an understanding of the mechanics of graphene, particularly how it flexes and bends, to unlock their potential.

(Graphene: The more you bend it, the softer it gets, National Science Foundation)