Meaning of intend in English:

intend

Pronunciation /ɪnˈtɛnd/

Translate intend into Spanish

verb

[with object]

1Have (a course of action) as one's purpose or intention; plan.
with infinitive ‘the company intends to cut 400 jobs’
- ‘it was not intended that colleges should have to revise their current schemes’
- ‘The only purpose it is intended to serve is to boost the election prospects of the ruling party in the State.’
- ‘It is possible that from its beginning it was intended in due course to become the administrative centre of Britain as well.’
- ‘He had planned the ideal route down the snowboard cross course and was intending to stick to it.’
- ‘Staggering closing times is also intended to cut violence by preventing revellers all heading home at the same time.’
- ‘Except, of course, nobody is intending to shut the prisons down.’
- ‘Perhaps the council is intending to build purpose made truck stops on the outskirts of the towns if they implement these bans.’
- ‘All three were also charged with intending to pervert the course of justice.’
- ‘He had previously admitted conspiracy to do acts tending or intending to pervert the course of justice.’
- ‘When we paid our fees in the pro shop the youngman raised his eyebrows a little when we told him we intended to walk the course.’
- ‘The other program is a set of plans intended to broaden the coverage of the educational system.’
- ‘Computers can be used by inmates to study a range of courses intended to help them upon release.’
- ‘He was undertaking a physical education course and intended to become a physical education teacher.’
- ‘I never, of course, intended to go into the room in the first place so I'm happy to comply.’
- ‘It is intended that the plan will be an accurate reflection of the needs and aspirations of the residents of the village.’
- ‘Whilst procedures for the resolution of disputes are provided for it is intended that they shall be used infrequently.’
- ‘The grant is not intended to be used to pursue course work toward a degree or for ongoing projects.’
- ‘However, it is intended that directors will be able to elect to keep the old rules in place.’
- ‘Another name change is looming as the college intends to apply for full university status later this year.’
- ‘Wayne also gave an account of how he had intended to cut his own throat after he realised Robert was dead.’
- ‘They intended to cut a major scene out of the beginning and they had also fiddled with the end quite a bit.’
plan, mean, have every intention, have the intention, have in mind, have in view, have plans, aim, propose, aspire, hope, expect, be looking, be going, be resolved, have resolved, be determined, have set out, purpose, be plotting
View synonyms
1. 1.1intend something as/to do somethingPlan that something should be or do something.
  ‘a series of questions intended as a checklist’
  ‘He had agreed to supply wire to cut the prison bars, but said he never intended the plan to be put into effect and believed that it could not possibly succeed.’
  ‘Indeed there would be no point to such centralized plans if they weren't intended to override the wishes of individuals.’
  ‘Both plans are intended to gain credit with Republicans in the bid to move them towards decommissioning of weapons.’
  ‘Mr Johnson said the plans were intended to be people-friendly.’
  ‘The recent achievements and what is planned for the future is intended to benefit all the communities of Otley, young and old alike.’
  ‘The various joint plans were intended to provide us with data on optimal joint spacing for future projects.’
  ‘Once, pension plans were intended to induce loyalty and long service in workers.’
  ‘SHI scores are intended to be used to plan improvements within schools and systems.’
  ‘The plans are intended to make the drugs more readily available to AIDS patients.’
  ‘The FAA acknowledged that the plan is not intended as a final solution to congestion and delay problems.’
  ‘Health Canada intended the food guide to have two main purposes: to help users plan healthy meals for their families and to help them evaluate their general eating habits.’
  ‘If Parliament had intended the planning authority to adhere to the development plan, it would have been simple so to express it.’
  ‘I would like to see some kind of arrangement drawn up where all parties are still able to enjoy the area as it was intended as well as contributing to its renovation.’
  ‘Yet Matthew, 36, also intends his pieces to function as an ironic comment on the aspirations of society.’
  ‘Perhaps Beldar intends his post to be tongue-in-cheek, so maybe I'm just not getting the joke by looking at the merits.’
  ‘Now the Government intends councils to have a greater share in the future of any new investment.’
  ‘He has repeatedly stated that he fully intends all-postal ballots to be staged, the use of which sparked complaints about malpractice during last month's elections.’
  ‘The government intends these measures to allow institutions to diversify, specialise and raise their own funds.’
  ‘Such statements are, of course, intended as jokes, but perhaps North is onto something.’
  ‘Of course, it occurred to me that this was intended as a serious article.’
  plan, mean, have every intention, have the intention, have in mind, have in view, have plans, aim, propose, aspire, hope, expect, be looking, be going, be resolved, have resolved, be determined, have set out, purpose, be plotting
  View synonyms
2. 1.2Plan that speech should have (a particular meaning)
  ‘no offence was intended, I assure you’
  ‘Power politics carried the day, Simpson argues - intending the double meaning.’
  ‘Words often have several different meanings and we can tell which meaning is intended only by seeing how the word is used.’
  ‘If this was intended as a defining speech, then the Tories still don't seem to have defined exactly what they are for.’
  ‘It said it was meant to be an imaginary episode and no offence was intended.’
  ‘No offence intended, I hope you understood this in the spirit it was submitted.’
  ‘Lastly I apologise to those of you that I upset, no offence was intended.’
  ‘I must have missed the subtlety and again, no offence was intended on my part.’
  ‘No offence had been intended, but given that it had been taken, an apology was conveyed.’
  ‘An epilogue wonders anxiously how the audience have liked the play, assuring them it was intended only to please.’
  ‘I don't believe it was ever intended to be taken too seriously or cause offence.’
  ‘The following is a very interesting exercise in semantics and is not intended to offend.’
  ‘I am sure that it was sent in this way with the best of intentions to address a serious issue and no one intended to cause any offence or concern to anyone.’
  ‘The artistic material is loaded with a significance which was not intended by the original producers.’
  ‘As I said, this is not intended to signify any particular concern about the content of this bill.’
  ‘Much of what is said in judgment is by way of emphasis and illustration and is not intended to be definitive.’
  ‘The advice is not intended to be definitive and should be used for guidance only.’
  ‘He could not say the words that would have set his speech on to the noble plane he intended.’
  ‘When I saw what I had posted, I realized that was not the meaning I intended.’
  ‘Mr Byers did not accept that he intended to mislead the Transport sub-Committee.’
  ‘He had certainly not taken offence at her sharp rebuttal, as she had intended he should.’
  plan, mean, have every intention, have the intention, have in mind, have in view, have plans, aim, propose, aspire, hope, expect, be looking, be going, be resolved, have resolved, be determined, have set out, purpose, be plotting
  View synonyms
2usually be intended for/to do somethingDesign or destine something for a particular purpose.
‘this one-roomed cottage was intended to accommodate a family’
- ‘pigs intended for human consumption’
- ‘The new design was intended to create more internal space, which meant stripping away the additions at the back.’
- ‘But these interventions also served humanitarian purposes, and presumably were intended to do that too.’
- ‘In the 18th century, wallpaper artisans designed elaborate motifs that were intended to be hung as panels.’
- ‘This is intended to look informal, contemporary and witty, yet looks cheap, and above all, small.’
- ‘It was intended to promote a simple moral purpose - to keep families together in shared recreation.’
- ‘The Convention is intended to protect fundamental human rights; it is not a plaster for every ill.’
- ‘Often these structures had been disturbed, and in several cases, they may not have been intended to contain human remains.’
- ‘It was intended to be delivered to its city destination over the weekend as parcel post.’
- ‘It is intended to help them dream about whatever they desire - and to remember that dream when they wake up.’
- ‘We were designed that way, we were intended to be that.’
- ‘Both were intended to exonerate the government.’
- ‘Pensioners who spend the winter months sunning themselves in the Caribbean are entitled to fuel allowances that were intended to help tide them over in cold spells back home in Britain.’
- ‘Procedures that required a second doctor to sign the certificate and a third doctor employed by the crematorium to check were intended to safeguard the public.’
- ‘Olivier used painted backdrops of French fields and castles that were intended to suggest medieval artistic renderings.’
- ‘The species-specific illustrations I offered were intended to be just that: illustrations.’
- ‘The Constitution and Bill of Rights were intended to establish a system of government that limits such rent-seeking.’
- ‘The superdelegates, then, were intended to stabilize the process.’
- ‘The guidelines, for which he was widely criticised last month, were intended to provide greater protection for the public than is provided at present, he said.’
- ‘The tactics used over the weekend were intended to drive home the message to pub and club goers that aggressive behaviour as a result of excessive drinking will not be tolerated.’
- ‘And the amendments that we were offering were intended to do just that.’
plan, mean, have every intention, have the intention, have in mind, have in view, have plans, aim, propose, aspire, hope, expect, be looking, be going, be resolved, have resolved, be determined, have set out, purpose, be plotting
View synonyms
1. 2.1be intended forBe meant or designed for the use of (a particular person or group)
  ‘this benefit is intended for people incapable of work’
  ‘a jigsaw puzzle intended for three-year-olds’
  ‘In 1998 two foresters were killed by a landmine intended for the park director.’
  ‘I have come to accept the world-view that my life should be lived according to what God intended for me, as a gay man.’
  ‘It is soo cute, but probably too big for the person it's intended for so I might have to keep it and make another smaller one.’
  ‘My wife, cat, baby and I occupy a space intended for three families.’
  ‘I chose art over the positivist-rationalist life of an engineer that my family intended for me.’
  ‘This may not make any sense to anyone but the person/s it's intended for.’
  ‘According to Lucille, the money intended for the school was given to a stationery store instead.’
  ‘The money intended for front line services ends up in administration or being swallowed up in other ways.’
  ‘Staff at Leeds Crown Court have received a faxed threat intended for the man accused of causing the Selby train crash.’
  ‘Also taken were bags of new clothing intended for a school in Gambia.’
  ‘The additional pay was money intended for them, they said, and was in effect held in trust by their employer.’
  ‘A toy intended for an older child may be dangerous in the hands of a younger one.’
  ‘The mere sight of a small eel hanging on the line after taking a bait intended for other fish, is enough to send most anglers into convulsions.’
  ‘Doctors at the clinic had mistakenly given her an embryo intended for another family.’
  ‘Actually, we do not believe that he ever intended for us to become conscious in our own right.’
  ‘There was nothing written on it to suggest who it might be from or intended for.’
  ‘The question remains who is this book intended for and how well is this audience reached?’
  ‘The first is the anteroom, intended for one or more of the Prince's attendants.’
  ‘He was in a bed intended for one individual, which was pushed into the far corner of the room.’
  ‘It was typical of Toy that this was not a book intended for scholars, but for the church.’
  plan, mean, have every intention, have the intention, have in mind, have in view, have plans, aim, propose, aspire, hope, expect, be looking, be going, be resolved, have resolved, be determined, have set out, purpose, be plotting
  View synonyms

Origin

Middle English entend (in the sense ‘direct the attention to’), from Old French entendre, from Latin intendere ‘intend, extend, direct’, from in- ‘towards’ + tendere ‘stretch, tend’.