mends

/mɛndz/

//mɛndz// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"mends" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mends” is uncommon English (frequency #84,508 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#84,508
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Synonym of amends.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mends · mends · English

mends · rank #84,508 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #84,508
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mellie

Nearest frequency peer: Mellie (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “mends”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mends” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mends
PropertyValue
Headwordmends
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɛndz/
Letters5
Frequency rank#84,508
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mends” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).mendsfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Mellie” (#84,507), “Melb” (#84,506), “Messieurs” (#84,510). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mends” is #84,508. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mends is uncommon English at frequency #84,508 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /mɛndz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for mends in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From mend (noun, verb) + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs). The correct English form is mends, spelled M-E-N-D-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Synonym of amends.
  2. 2
    Synonym of amends.
  3. 3
    Synonym of amends.
  4. 4
    Repair, restoration; also, healing, recovery.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how mends appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. she has the mends in her own hands.

Etymology

From mend (noun, verb) + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs).

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mends"?
"mends" is spelled M-E-N-D-S. The IPA pronunciation is /mɛndz/.
What does "mends" mean?
As a noun, "mends" means: Synonym of amends.
How do you pronounce "mends"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mends" is /mɛndz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mends"?
From mend (noun, verb) + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum, regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mends", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mardy#84,488mangy#84,484Mable#84,478Lippe#84,465

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list