fence

—fencelike, adj.

/fens/, n., v., fenced, fencing.

n.

1. a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary.

2. Informal. a person who receives and disposes of stolen goods.

3. the place of business of such a person.

4. the act, practice, art, or sport of fencing.

5. skill in argument, repartee, etc.

6. Mach. a guard or guide, as for regulating the movements of a tool or work.

7. Carpentry. a slotted guide used esp. with a framing square to lay out cuts on rafters and staircase strings.

8. Archaic. a means of defense; a bulwark.

9. mend one's fences, to strengthen or reestablish one's position by conciliation or negotiation: One could tell by his superficially deferential manner that he was trying to mend his fences.

10. on the fence, uncommitted; neutral; undecided: The party leaders are still on the fence.

v.t.

11. to enclose by some barrier, establishing exclusive right to possession: to fence a farm.

12. to separate by or as by a fence or fences (often fol. by in, off, out, etc.): to fence off a corner of one's yard; to fence out unwholesome influences.

13. to defend; protect; guard: The president was fenced by bodyguards wherever he went.

14. to ward off; keep out.

15. Informal. to sell (stolen goods) to a fence.

16. Naut. to reinforce (an opening in a sail or the like) by sewing on a grommet or other device.

v.i.

17. to practice the art or sport of fencing.

18. to parry arguments; strive to avoid giving direct answers; hedge: The mayor fenced when asked if he would run again.

19. (of a horse) to leap over a fence.

20. Obs. to raise a defense.

[1300-50; ME fens, aph. for defens DEFENSE]

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▪ barrier

      barrier erected to confine or exclude people or animals, to define boundaries, or to decorate. Timber, earth, stone, and metal are widely used for fencing. Fences of living plants have been made in many places, such as the hedges of Great Britain and continental Europe and the cactus fences of Latin America. In well-timbered country, such as colonial and 19th-century North America, many patterns of timber fence were developed, such as the split rail laid zigzag, the post rail, and the picket. On the East European Plain and in the western United States, fences of turf were erected that often stood for years in the absence of heavy rains.

      Wire, the preeminent modern fencing material, was first used in the mid-19th century, with the development of methods of mass production. Woven wire fences, affixed to wood, steel, or concrete posts, proved economical and durable (wood posts may be treated with preservative). The invention of the barbed-wire (barbed wire) fence in the 1860s and of a machine for its manufacture in 1874 made possible effective fencing of cattle range (see barbed wire).

      Electrified fences, frequently a single strand of barbed wire, are sometimes used for temporary confinement of animals. A mild shock is given to the animal at intervals of a few seconds if it is in contact with the fence.

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