tender

UK/ˈtɛn.dəː/US/ˈtɛn.dɚ/

adjectiveB24 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #2,656 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: tenders

Tender is soft, and gentle with it. The chicken is tender when it falls off the bone under a fork, and a voice over a cot at night is tender in the same way — nothing hard anywhere in it.

A tender spot on your arm is one that hurts when you press it, so the word runs from soft all the way to sore. Tender years and a tender age mean young. Then there is its second life in business and law: to tender something is to offer it formally — you tender your resignation, three firms tender for the contract — and the offer itself is a tender. Money a shop is obliged to accept is legal tender. That verb is stiff and official, so nobody tenders you a cup of tea.

Definitions of tender

1adjectivetenderGentle and full of quiet love.B2~28%
“He gave the baby a tender look and turned the light off.”
- Said"He's very tender with the baby; I've never seen him so gentle."
- WrittenA tender note in her voice told him the argument was over.
- UsedBe tender with someone who has just had bad news.
- ContrastTender, not kind. Kind is what you do; tender is how gently you do it, and how much love shows. kind →
- Not thisTender meat is another meaning, easy to cut. This tender is about people.
- SimplyShe is tender with the cat. She is soft and slow.
Patterna tender look / voice / moment · tender towards sb · tenderly · tenderness
synonyms: gentle, affectionate
2adjectivesoftSoft and easy to cut or chew.B2~21%
“Cook it slowly until the meat is tender.”
- Said"Give it another hour — it's not tender yet."
- WrittenThe lamb had cooked so long it fell from the bone, tender enough for a spoon.
- UsedSimmer for two hours, until the beef is tender.
- ContrastTender, not soft. Bread is soft; meat that is easy to cut and chew is tender. soft →
- SimplyCook it a long time. Then it is tender.
Patterntender meat / beef / lamb · cook until tender · tender enough to + verb
synonyms: soft
3adjectivesoreSore when it is touched.B2~13%
“The skin round the cut is still tender.”
4nounbidA formal written offer to do a job at a stated price.C1~38%
“Three firms put in a tender for the bridge.”
synonyms: bid

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 167 sentences found in the wild and placed 61 of them on a sense (106 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.

Remember it

TEN-der → TEN forks

Ten forks stand up out of the meat in the pot, and every one of them has slid in to the handle under its own weight. The meat closes over them like warm butter.

hooks ontoten

Phrases it lives in

legal tender — money a seller is obliged to accept
tender loving care — the patient attention something needs to recover, often said half-jokingly of an object
at a tender age — younger than you would expect for whatever happened next

Also practised as

Where it comes from

Latin tener meant soft, delicate. It came into English through Old French tendre and never changed its mind: the meat, the bruise, the look on a face — one Latin adjective doing all of it, eight hundred years later.

Middle English
tender
English, today
tender

From Middle English tender. From Middle English tender, tendere, from Anglo-Norman tendre, Old French tendre, from Latin tener (“soft, delicate”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Feelings & Character, A Man Called Ove, Business & Money

First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

tender in the wild

In most countries, coins and banknotes are legal tender, whereas cheques, credit cards and other non-cash payment methods are generally not.
Legal tender
Some jurisdictions recognise a foreign currency as legal tender, either alongside or instead of a domestic currency.
Legal tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat or ship used to service or support other boats or ships.
Ship's tender
A brake tender is a tender that is heavy and used (primarily) to provide greater braking efficiency.
Tender (rail)
Some water tenders carry fire fighting equipment and crew much like an engine.
Water tender

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

tenderness

Definitions of tender

1adjectivetenderGentle and full of quiet love.B2~28%

“He gave the baby a tender look and turned the light off.”

Said"He's very tender with the baby; I've never seen him so gentle."
WrittenA tender note in her voice told him the argument was over.
UsedBe tender with someone who has just had bad news.
ContrastTender, not kind. Kind is what you do; tender is how gently you do it, and how much love shows. kind →
Not thisTender meat is another meaning, easy to cut. This tender is about people.
SimplyShe is tender with the cat. She is soft and slow.

Patterna tender look / voice / moment · tender towards sb · tenderly · tenderness

synonyms: gentle, affectionate

2adjectivesoftSoft and easy to cut or chew.B2~21%

“Cook it slowly until the meat is tender.”

Said"Give it another hour — it's not tender yet."
WrittenThe lamb had cooked so long it fell from the bone, tender enough for a spoon.
UsedSimmer for two hours, until the beef is tender.
ContrastTender, not soft. Bread is soft; meat that is easy to cut and chew is tender. soft →
SimplyCook it a long time. Then it is tender.

Patterntender meat / beef / lamb · cook until tender · tender enough to + verb

synonyms: soft

3adjectivesoreSore when it is touched.B2~13%

“The skin round the cut is still tender.”

4nounbidA formal written offer to do a job at a stated price.C1~38%

“Three firms put in a tender for the bridge.”

synonyms: bid

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 167 sentences found in the wild and placed 61 of them on a sense (106 were unclear) — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.