Fence
[fens] or [fɛns]
Definition
(noun.) a barrier that serves to enclose an area.
(noun.) a dealer in stolen property.
(verb.) fight with fencing swords.
(verb.) enclose with a fence; 'we fenced in our yard'.
(verb.) receive stolen goods.
Checker: Williams--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) That which fends off attack or danger; a defense; a protection; a cover; security; shield.
(n.) An inclosure about a field or other space, or about any object; especially, an inclosing structure of wood, iron, or other material, intended to prevent intrusion from without or straying from within.
(n.) A projection on the bolt, which passes through the tumbler gates in locking and unlocking.
(n.) Self-defense by the use of the sword; the art and practice of fencing and sword play; hence, skill in debate and repartee. See Fencing.
(n.) A receiver of stolen goods, or a place where they are received.
(v. t.) To fend off danger from; to give security to; to protect; to guard.
(v. t.) To inclose with a fence or other protection; to secure by an inclosure.
(v. i.) To make a defense; to guard one's self of anything, as against an attack; to give protection or security, as by a fence.
(v. i.) To practice the art of attack and defense with the sword or with the foil, esp. with the smallsword, using the point only.
(v. i.) Hence, to fight or dispute in the manner of fencers, that is, by thrusting, guarding, parrying, etc.
Inputed by Deborah
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Wall, HEDGE, frame of posts and rails, &c.[2]. Shield, guard, security, defence.
v. a. [1]. Enclose with a fence.[2]. Guard, fortify, defend.
v. n. Practise fencing.
Typist: Wilhelmina
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Circumscribe, enclose, protect, elude, parry, stave
ANT:Open, disenclose, catch, receive, suffer
Typed by Duane
Definition
n. a wall or hedge for enclosing animals or for protecting land: the art of fencing: defence: a receiver of stolen goods also a receiving-house.—v.t. to enclose with a fence: to fortify.—v.i. to practise fencing: to conceal the truth by equivocal answers.—adjs. Fenced enclosed with a fence; Fence′less without fence or enclosure open.—n. Fenc′er one who practises fencing with a sword.—adj. Fenc′ible capable of being fenced or defended.—n.pl. Fenc′ibles volunteer regiments raised for local defence during a special crisis: militia enlisted for home service.—p.adj. Fenc′ing defending or guarding.—n. the act of erecting a fence: the art of attack and defence with a sword or other weapon.—n. Fenc′ing-mas′ter one who teaches fencing.—Fence the tables in the ancient usage of Scotland to debar from partaking in communion those guilty of any known sin.—Sit on the fence to be still hesitating as between two opinions; Sunk fence a ditch or water-course.
Checked by Douglas
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream of climbing to the top of a fence, denotes that success will crown your efforts. To fall from a fence, signifies that you will undertake a project for which you are incapable, and you will see your efforts come to naught. To be seated on a fence with others, and have it fall under you, denotes an accident in which some person will be badly injured. To dream that you climb through a fence, signifies that you will use means not altogether legitimate to reach your desires. To throw the fence down and walk into the other side, indicates that you will, by enterprise and energy, overcome the stubbornest barriers between you and success. To see stock jumping a fence, if into your enclosure, you will receive aid from unexpected sources; if out of your lot, loss in trade and other affairs may follow. To dream of building a fence, denotes that you are, by economy and industry, laying a foundation for future wealth. For a young woman, this dream denotes success in love affairs; or the reverse, if she dreams of the fence falling, or that she falls from it.
Typed by Jewel
Examples
- I have great hopes for my boy, observed Jo, watching him fly over the fence with an approving smile. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- The party of horsemen came up to the fence, and, with mingled shouts and oaths, were dismounting, to prepare to follow them. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- As Sissy said it, her eyes were attracted by another of those rotten fragments of fence upon the ground. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Come, come, Lady Dedlock, we must not fence and parry now. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- We have all seen fence posts and bricks pushed out of place because of the heaving of the soil beneath them. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- What have you got to say for yourself, you withered old fence, eh? Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- There was a crowd of soldiers along the fence in the infield. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- There were villas with iron fences and big overgrown gardens and ditches with water flowing and green vegetable gardens with dust on the leaves. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- It was open for about an hour's ride, and after that it was cut across by various farms and fences. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- What might be called a raft-bridge was soon constructed from material obtained from wooden buildings, stables, fences, etc. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- They show their real vitality by a relentless growth in spite of all the little fences and obstacles that foolish politicians devise. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- In a farm where all the necessary buildings, fences, drains, communications, etc. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- In _wire-working_ great advances have been made in machines for making _barbed wire fences_. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- There were no walls, no fences, no hedges--nothing to secure a man's possessions but these random heaps of stones. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Now I think on 't, I think I hearn 'em tell that dat ar road was all fenced up and down by der creek, and thar, an't it, Andy? Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- And every road is fenced in by tall, solid lava walls, which will last a thousand years in this land where frost is unknown. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- One is so fenced and guarded from the weather, that not a breath of air can find its way unpermitted. Jane Austen. Emma.
- A man's property is supposed to be fenced against every mortal, in every possible case. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- The walls of stately date-palms that fenced the gardens and bordered the way, threw their shadows down and made the air cool and bracing. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- I telled Mas'r 't was all shet up, and fenced up, and I didn't spect we could get through,--Andy heard me. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- We could have felt affluent if we had been officially surveyed and fenced in. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Begging your pardon, ma'am, it wasn't a billiard saloon, but a gymnasium, and I was taking a lesson in fencing. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I am tired of this fencing. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- After a moment's consideration, I suggested that perhaps fencing had been his accomplishment. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He provided foils for us, and Steerforth gave me lessons in fencing--gloves, and I began, of the same master, to improve in boxing. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- You can teach me, and then when we play _Hamlet_, you can be Laertes, and we'll make a fine thing of the fencing scene. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- No sensible man ever engages, unprepared, in a fencing match of words with a woman. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I contrived to refer to him indirectly, and after a little fencing on either side she at last mentioned that he had gone out. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
Edited by Davy