FENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fence mean? 

• FENCE (noun)
  The noun FENCE has 2 senses:

1. a barrier that serves to enclose an area

2. a dealer in stolen property

  Familiarity information: FENCE used as a noun is rare.

• FENCE (verb)
  The verb FENCE has 5 senses:

1. enclose with a fence

2. receive stolen goods

3. fight with fencing swords

4. surround with a wall in order to fortify

5. have an argument about something

  Familiarity information: FENCE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FENCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A barrier that serves to enclose an area

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fence; fencing

Hypernyms ("fence" is a kind of...):

barrier (a structure or object that impedes free movement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fence"):

chainlink fence (a fence of steel wires woven into a diamond pattern)

hedge; hedgerow (a fence formed by a row of closely planted shrubs or bushes)

paling; picket fence (a fence made of upright pickets)

rail fence; split-rail fence (a fence (usually made of split logs laid across each other at an angle))

stone wall (a fence built of rough stones; used to separate fields)

wall (a masonry fence (as around an estate or garden))

weir (a fence or wattle built across a stream to catch or retain fish)

backstop ((baseball) a fence or screen (as behind home plate) to prevent the ball from traveling out of the playing field)

Holonyms ("fence" is a part of...):

fence line (a boundary line created by a fence)

Derivation:

fence (surround with a wall in order to fortify)

fence (enclose with a fence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A dealer in stolen property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("fence" is a kind of...):

bargainer; dealer; monger; trader (someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Derivation:

fence (receive stolen goods)

• FENCE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they fence    ... he / she / it fences   
Past simple: fenced   
Past participle: fenced   
-ing form: fencing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Enclose with a fence

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

fence; fence in

Context example:

we fenced in our yard

Hypernyms (to "fence" is one way to...):

close in; enclose; inclose; shut in (surround completely)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

fence; fencing (a barrier that serves to enclose an area)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Receive stolen goods

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "fence" is one way to...):

have; receive (get something; come into possession of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

fence (a dealer in stolen property)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Fight with fencing swords

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "fence" is one way to...):

contend; fight; struggle (be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fence"):

block; deflect; parry (impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

fencer (someone skilled at fencing)

fencing (the art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Surround with a wall in order to fortify

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

fence; fence in; palisade; surround; wall

Hypernyms (to "fence" is one way to...):

protect (shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fence"):

stockade (surround with a stockade in order to fortify)

circumvallate (surround with or as if with a rampart or other fortification)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

fence (a barrier that serves to enclose an area)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Have an argument about something

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

argue; contend; debate; fence

Hypernyms (to "fence" is one way to...):

converse; discourse (carry on a conversation)

"Fence" entails doing...:

differ; disagree; dissent; take issue (be of different opinions)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fence"):

stickle (dispute or argue stubbornly (especially minor points))

spar (fight verbally)

bicker; brabble; niggle; pettifog; quibble; squabble (argue over petty things)

altercate; argufy; dispute; quarrel; scrap (have a disagreement over something)

oppose (be against; express opposition to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

Then inside other fences were the particular domains of other gods.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"You never shall be again," broke in Laurie, putting his arm about her, as if to fence out every human ill.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

In each block, two snow fences were constructed several feet apart to control snow cover in the winter.

(Rising tundra temperatures lead to changes in microbial communities, National Science Foundation)

The wooden fence which separated the grounds from the road threw a dense black shadow upon the inner side, and here it was that we crouched.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There were no fences at all by the roadside now, and the land was rough and untilled.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

“By the way,” said he to Joseph Harrison, “you found some place, I understand, where the fellow scaled the fence. Let us have a look at that!”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With which she pushed me into a corner near her, and fenced Me in with a chair, as if it were a prison or a bar of justice.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

One is so fenced and guarded from the weather, that not a breath of air can find its way unpermitted.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

"Jane," he recommenced, as we entered the laurel walk, and slowly strayed down in the direction of the sunk fence and the horse-chestnut, "Thornfield is a pleasant place in summer, is it not?"

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

If you touch them or things they have touched, like fencing or buckets, wash your hands thoroughly.

(Animal Diseases and Your Health, NIH)