US /bɪˈfrɛnd/ UK /bɪˈfrɛnd/
verb

Meanings

  1. 1
    verb

    to act as a friend to; to help or favor

    She befriended the lonely newcomer at school.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 verb · to act as a friend to; to... helpaidassistsupportfavorwelcome
Word family
Derived forms befriendedbefriending
Related forms friend

Etymology

From the prefix be- (here 'to make, treat as') + friend. Friend is from Old English frēond ('friend'), originally the present participle of frēon ('to love'), from Proto-Germanic *frijōną.

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