rend
/ɹɛnd/verb, noun
rend is spelled R-E-N-D: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, rend means “To separate into parts with force or sudden violence; to split; to burst” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in rend?
| Letters | 4: R-E-N-D |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 57,423rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is rend?
Rend appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 57,423rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce rend?
- /ɹɛnd/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-rend.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with rend?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as rend.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: nerd, dern.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of rend
- rends present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- rending participle, present
- rent participle, past
- rended participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does rend mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To separate into parts with force or sudden violence; to split; to burst.
Powder rends a rock in blasting.
- 2
To violently disturb the peace of; to throw into chaos.
a scream that rent the air
- 3
To part or tear off forcibly; to take away by force; to amputate.
- 4
To be rent or torn; to become parted; to separate; to split.
Relationships may rend if tempers flare.
noun
- 1
A violent separation of parts.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Rend in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rompre, déchirer |
| German | zerreißen, zerspalten, spalten |
| Portuguese | rasgar |
| Spanish | rasgar, destrozar, desgajar, romper , desgarrar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does rend come from?
From Middle English renden, from Old English rendan (“to rend, tear, cut, lacerate, cut down”), from Proto-West Germanic *(h)randijan (“to tear”), of uncertain origin. Believed by some to be the causative of Proto-Germanic *hrindaną (“to push”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱret-, *kret- (“to hit, beat”), which would make it related to Old English hrindan (“to thrust, push”). Cognate with Scots rent (“to rend, tear”), Old Frisian renda (“to tear”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).