The difference between Nurse and Tend

When used as verbs, nurse means to breastfeed, whereas tend means to kindle.


Nurse is also noun with the meaning: a wet-nurse.

check bellow for the other definitions of Nurse and Tend

  1. Nurse as a noun (archaic):

    A wet-nurse.

  2. Nurse as a noun:

    A person (usually a woman) who takes care of other people's young.

    Examples:

    "They hired a nurse to care for their young boy"

  3. Nurse as a noun:

    A person trained to provide care for the sick.

    Examples:

    "The nurse made her rounds through the hospital ward"

  4. Nurse as a noun:

    One who, or that which, brings up, rears, causes to grow, trains, fosters, or the like.

  5. Nurse as a noun (horticulture):

    A shrub or tree that protects a young plant.

  6. Nurse as a noun (nautical):

    A lieutenant or first officer who takes command when the captain is unfit for his place.

  7. Nurse as a noun:

    A larva of certain trematodes, which produces cercariae by asexual reproduction.

  8. Nurse as a noun:

    A nurse shark.

  1. Nurse as a verb:

    to breastfeed

    Examples:

    "She believes that nursing her baby will make him strong and healthy''."

  2. Nurse as a verb:

    to care for the sick

    Examples:

    "She nursed him back to health."

  3. Nurse as a verb:

    to treat kindly and with extra care

    Examples:

    "She nursed the rosebush and that season it bloomed."

  4. Nurse as a verb:

    to manage with care and economy

    Examples:

    "synonyms husband"

  5. Nurse as a verb:

    to drink slowly

  6. Nurse as a verb:

    to foster, to nourish

  7. Nurse as a verb:

    to hold closely to one's chest

    Examples:

    "Would you like to nurse the puppy?"

  8. Nurse as a verb:

    to strike (billiard balls) gently, so as to keep them in good position during a series of shots

  1. Tend as a verb (transitive, now, _, chiefly, _, dialectal):

    To kindle; ignite; set on fire; light; inflame; burn.

  1. Tend as a verb (legal, Old English law):

    To make a tender of; to offer or tender.

  2. Tend as a verb (followed by a to infinitive):

    To be likely, or probable to do something, or to have a certain characteristic.

    Examples:

    "They tend to go out on Saturdays."

    "It tends to snow here in winter."

  1. Tend as a verb (with to):

    To look after (e.g. an ill person.)

    Examples:

    "We need to tend to the garden, which has become a mess."

  2. Tend as a verb:

    To accompany as an assistant or protector; to care for the wants of; to look after; to watch; to guard.

    Examples:

    "Shepherds tend their flocks."

  3. Tend as a verb:

    To wait (upon), as attendants or servants; to serve; to attend.

  4. Tend as a verb (obsolete):

    To await; to expect.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Shakespeare"

  5. Tend as a verb (obsolete):

    To be attentive to; to note carefully; to attend to.

  6. Tend as a verb (transitive, nautical):

    To manage (an anchored vessel) when the tide turns, to prevent it from entangling the cable when swinging.