fend off

phrasal verb

fended off; fending off; fends off

: to defend oneself against (someone or something)

They succeeded in fending off the attack/attackers.

They have had to fend off allegations of voter fraud.

Examples of fend off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That meant finding a way to play their game — a forecheck, grinding, puck possession-heavy game — and fend off the Rangers’ early pressure. —

Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 May 2024 High School Sports Ventura’s Sadie Engelhardt fends off challenges to break Arcadia Invitational record April 7, 2024 History could also be made in the boys’ 100-meter dash. —

Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024 Far-right incumbents in the county fended off challengers, too: Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, a member of the Idaho Freedom Caucus, defeated former Sen. Jeff Agenbroad for the second time in two years, while Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, handily defeated a more moderate conservative, Lori Bishop. —

Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 22 May 2024 Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the judge who was randomly assigned to preside over the election interference case, also fended off a challenger, winning a nonpartisan election to keep his seat. —

Kate Brumback, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2024 To add to its woes, the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t help the retailer fend off the rapid decline of shopping malls. —

Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 21 May 2024 Secretary of State Antony Blinken fended off a sweeping attack on President Joe Biden's approach to Israel's war with Hamas from senators across the political spectrum on Tuesday. —

Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024 Alexander led his armored warriors up a hill fending off a hail of arrows. —

Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2024 After retrieving a top-secret flash drive from the crash, the couple are pulled back into their shadowy past, fending off government operatives determined to retrieve the drive. —

Alex Ritman, Variety, 17 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fend off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.