FENCE
What does "FENCE" mean?
A barrier of posts, wire, or rails enclosing or dividing an area.
Meanings
- A structure that encloses or marks off an area. They built a wooden fence around the garden.
- To fight with swords as a sport, using a foil, épée, or sabre. She learned to fence at university.
- A person who buys and resells stolen goods. The thieves sold the jewelry to a fence downtown. informal
- To avoid giving direct answers; to evade. Stop fencing and tell me what really happened. figurative
Did you know?
- A garden barrier, a swordfighter, and a dealer in stolen goods are all called by the same word because 'fence' is simply a clipped 'defence' - each sense circles back to the idea of warding off.
Word origin
A shortened form of 'defence' (from Latin 'defendere'), originally the act of warding off; the meanings of enclosure, swordplay, and the receiver of stolen goods all branch from that idea of protection or warding.
Remember it
FENCE is 'defence' with the 'de-' knocked off - a fence is just defence, made short and solid.
A little poem
A line of posts to hold the world apart-
this much is mine, that much is not.
Both sides agree, and that's the art.
tercet
Wordplay
- The thief took up fencing to stay fit, then realized he'd been a fence for years.
What it teaches
Every boundary is an act of defense; we draw lines to decide what we are willing to protect.
Quick facts
What does FENCE mean?
A barrier of posts, wire, or rails enclosing or dividing an area.
Is FENCE a valid word?
Yes — FENCE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is FENCE?
FENCE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does FENCE come from?
A shortened form of 'defence' (from Latin 'defendere'), originally the act of warding off; the meanings of enclosure, swordplay, and the receiver of stolen goods all branch from that idea of protection or warding.
What can FENCE teach us?
Every boundary is an act of defense; we draw lines to decide what we are willing to protect.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.