friend

Shortened URL:

http://lngt.co/friend-en

0

friend

friend [noun] (PERSON YOU LIKE)

UK

/frend/

Example:

I've made a lot of friends in this job.

Someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with

Persian equivalent:

Click here.

Example:

I've made a lot of friends in this job.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

friend

I. friend¹ S1 W1 /frend/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: ↑friend, ↑friendliness, ↑friendship, ↑friendly; adjective: ↑friendly ≠ ↑unfriendly, ↑friendless; verb: ↑befriend]
[Language: Old English; Origin: freond]
1. PERSON YOU LIKE someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with:
Jerry, this is my friend Sue.
She’s always out with her friends.
One of her closest friends died at the weekend.
I met Jim through a friend.
2. be friends (with somebody) to be someone’s friend:
I’ve been friends with the Murkets for twenty years.
3.
a) make friends to become friendly with people:
Jenny has always found it easy to make friends at school.
b) make friends with somebody to become friendly with someone:
He made friends with an old fisherman.
4. be just (good) friends used to say that you are not having a romantic relationship with someone:
I’m not going out with Nathan – we’re just good friends.
5. SUPPORTER someone who supports an organization such as a theatre, ↑art gallery, ↑charity etc by giving money or help
friend of
the Friends of the Tate
6. NOT AN ENEMY someone who has the same beliefs, wants to achieve the same things etc as you, and will support you:
our friends and allies around the world
She shot him a quick glance as if unsure whether he was friend or foe.
Don’t worry, you’re among friends.
7. someone who has created a link with you on a ↑social networking site on the Internet, by visiting your ↑webpage and clicking on it:
She has thousands of friends on MySpace.
8. PARLIAMENT/COURT OF LAW British English
a) my honourable friend used by a member of parliament when speaking about another member of parliament
b) my learned friend used by a lawyer when speaking about another lawyer in a court of law
9. be no friend of something to not like or be a supporter of something:
I’m no friend of socialism, as you know.
10. Friend a member of the Society of Friends SYN Quaker
11. our/your friend spoken used humorously to talk about someone you do not know, who is doing something annoying:
Our friend with the loud voice is back.
12. have friends in high places to know important people who can help you
13. a friend in need someone who helps you when you need it
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + friend
▪ sb’s best friend (=the friend you like the most) Fiona was her best friend.
▪ a good/close friend (=one of the friends you like the most) She’s a good friend of mine.
▪ a dear friend (=a friend who is very important to you) I’d like you to meet a dear friend of mine.
▪ an old friend (=someone who has been your friend for a long time) We went to see some old friends who had moved to Harlow.
▪ a lifelong friend (=someone who has been your friend for the whole of your life) The two men were lifelong friends.
▪ a childhood friend (=someone who was your friend when you were a child) She had been a childhood friend of Tony Walker.
▪ a school friend I met some old school friends for lunch.
▪ a family friend He’s visiting family friends.
▪ a personal friend Mr Hutton is a close personal friend of my father.
▪ a mutual friend (=someone who is a friend of both you and someone else) They went to a mutual friend’s home for dinner.
▪ a firm friend (=a friend you like a lot and intend to keep) They had remained firm friends ever since they first met.
▪ a trusted friend She told only a few trusted friends.
▪ male/female friends Most of my male friends are married now.
■ verbs
▪ have a friend Suzie has plenty of friends.
▪ become friends Liz and Vanessa soon became friends.
▪ remain friends We have all remained friends despite some difficult times.
■ phrases
▪ a friend of mine/yours/Bill’s etc A friend of mine is going to Tokyo next week.
▪ a friend of a friend I managed to get tickets from a friend of a friend.
▪ sb’s circle of friends (=all the friends somebody has) Her small circle of friends used to play cards together.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ friend someone who you know and like very much and enjoy spending time with: Dad, this is my friend Steve. | She’s going to Palm Springs with some friends. | I got a letter from a friend from college. | Amy’s a close friend of mine. | John was a really good friend to me when I had all those problems last year.
▪ acquaintance /əˈkweɪntəns/ someone who you know and see sometimes, but who is not one of your close friends: We borrowed the money from one of Paul’s business acquaintances.
▪ mate British English informal a friend – used especially about boys or men: He always goes to the pub with his mates on Friday night. | Terry’s an old mate of mine.
▪ buddy American English informal a friend – used especially about men or young people: He’s out playing basketball with some of his high school buddies.
▪ pal informal a friend – pal sounds rather old-fashioned: They met at school and have remained close pals.
▪ crony [usually plural] disapproving a friend – used about powerful people who will help each other even if it is slightly dishonest: He’s one of the President’s cronies.
▪ companion written someone who spends time with you, doing the same things as you – used about animals as well as people: travelling companions | His dog was his constant companion. | the perfect companion
▪ the girls informal a woman’s female friends: We’re having a girls’ night out.
▪ the lads British English informal a man’s male friends: a night out with the lads
II. friend² BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to add someone to your list of friends on a ↑social networking site:
I never friend someone I haven’t met in real life.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

friend

friend [friend friends friended friending] [frend] [frend] noun

PERSON YOU LIKE
1. a person you know well and like, and who is not usually a member of your family
• This is my friend Tom.
• Is he a friend of yours?
• She's an old friend (= I have known her a long time).
• He's one of my best friends.
• a close/good friend
• a childhood/family/lifelong friend
• I heard about it through a friend of a friend.
• She has a wide circle of friends.

see also befriend, boyfriend, fair-weather, false friend, girlfriend, penfriend, school friend

SUPPORTER

2. a person who supports an organization, a charity, etc, especially by giving or raising money; a person who supports a particular idea, etc
• the Friends of St Martin's Hospital
• a friend of democracy

• Theatre tickets are 10% cheaper for Friends.

NOT ENEMY

3. a person who has the same interests and opinions as yourself, and will help and support you
• You're among friends here— you can speak freely.

• His eyes were moving from face to face: friend or foe?

SILLY/ANNOYING PERSON

4. (ironic) used to talk about sb you do not know who has done sth silly or annoying

• I wish our friend at the next table would shut up.

IN PARLIAMENT/COURT

5. (in Britain) used by a member of parliament to refer to another member of parliament or by a lawyer to refer to another lawyer in a court of law
• my honourable friend, the member for Henley (= in the House of Commons)
• my noble friend (= in the House of Lords)

• my learned friend (= in a court of law)

IN RELIGION

6. Friend a member of the Society of Friends
Syn: Quaker
more at man's best friend at man _n.
Idioms: friend in need ▪ friends ▪ good friends ▪ have friends in high places
Word Origin:
Old English frēond, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vriend and German Freund, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘to love’, shared by free.
Thesaurus:
friend noun C
• He's one of my best friends.
companion • • acquaintance • • confidant • • ally • |BrE, informal mate • |AmE, informal buddy • |informal, old-fashioned pal • |often disapproving crony •
Opp: enemy
a friend/mate/buddy/pal of mine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs/my mother's/Diana's, etc.
an old friend/acquaintance/ally/mate/buddy/pal
a good friend/companion/mate/buddy/pal
have friends/acquaintances/allies/mates/buddies/pals
Example Bank:
• Does your sister have any single friends?
• Even his own friends don't believe him.
• He finds it difficult to make friends.
• He introduced me to his circle of friends.
• He was last seen leaving a restaurant with a female friend.
• He won't win any friends if he carries on talking like that.
• Her best friend at school was called Anna.
• I was given this necklace by a good friend of mine.
• I'm inviting only my closest friends to the party.
• If you need a friend, just call me.
• It was so relaxing to be among old friends.
• My so-called friends are making fun of me because of my weight.
• People he had trusted turned out to be only fair-weather friends.
• She doesn't have many good friends.
• She's made friends with the little girl who lives next door.
• They became friends after meeting at college.
• We met each other through a mutual friend.
• We stayed friends even after we grew up and left home.
• a friend from high school
• He's one of my best friends.
• I heard about it through a friend of a friend.
• Is he a friend of yours?
• She has a wide circle of friends.
• She met up with some of her old school friends.
• She's an old friend.

• a childhood/family/lifelong friend

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

friend

friend /ˈfrɛnd/ noun, pl friends [count]
1 : a person who you like and enjoy being with
• I'd like you to meet my friend.
• She is such a good/close/dear friend (of mine).
• We're fast friends. = We're the best of friends.
• He's no friend of mine.
• He has always been a good friend to me. [=he has always helped or supported me as a good friend should]
• She's my best friend. [=my closest friend]
• We are childhood friends. [=we have been friends since we were children]
• old friends [=people who have been friends for a long time]
• She is an old family friend. = She is an old friend of the family. [=she has known and spent time with the family over many years]
• We are just friends. [=we are not in a romantic relationship]
• He wants to be friends with my younger sister. [=he wants to be my sister's friend]
• She is best friends with my younger sister. [=she is my youngest sister's closest friend]
✦Friend is sometimes used in a humorous or ironic way to refer to someone who is annoying or disliked.
• Has our friend with the rude attitude been bothering you lately?
• Don't look now. Here comes your friend.
2 : a person who helps or supports someone or something (such as a cause or charity)
• She is a friend of the environment. [=she supports environmental causes]
• The strikers knew they had a friend in the senator. [=knew that the senator supported them]
• Are you friend or foe? [=do you support us or oppose us?]
3 Friend : quaker
a friend in need is a friend indeed
- used to say that a friend who will help you when you need help is a true friend;
friends in high places
✦To have friends in high places is to know people with social or political influence or power.
• She got the job because she has friends in high places.
make friends : to become someone's friend
• Sometimes it is hard for children to make new friends.
- often + with
• She's very good at making friends with people from all walks of life.
man's best friend