What does amend mean?
To amend means to make changes to something—most often a document, law, or formal text—in order to correct it, update it, or improve it. The word is central to legal and political language: constitutions, contracts, and statutes are routinely 'amended' through formal amendments, which are specific, authorized modifications rather than complete rewrites. Beyond its official uses, amend also has a moral dimension: to 'amend one's ways' is to reform one's behavior, turning over a new leaf. The word derives from the Latin 'emendare,' meaning to free from fault, and shares ancestry with 'mend,' which handles physical repair, and with the phrase 'make amends,' which concerns atoning for wrongdoing. This gives amend a distinctive double life: it is at once a dry procedural term used in parliaments and courtrooms, and a word with connotations of remorse, correction, and self-improvement. Understanding amend helps clarify how change happens—not usually all at once, but through careful, deliberate revision.
To make minor changes or improvements to a document, law, or text in order to correct or enhance it.
"The board agreed to amend the contract's payment terms."
In legal contexts, changes are typically made via a formal 'amendment.'
To improve or reform one's own behavior or conduct.
"He promised to amend his habits after the warning from his doctor."
The word 'amend' and the phrase 'make amends' both trace back to the same Latin root meaning fault — so when you fix a document and apologize for a mistake, you're using two branches of the very same word.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of amend
Amend comes from the Old French 'amender,' formed from the Latin 'emendare,' meaning 'to free from fault,' a compound of e- (out) and menda (fault or blemish). The same Latin root gave English both 'mend' and 'emend,' as well as the phrase 'make amends,' which preserves the older sense of compensating for a fault. Amend entered Middle English around the 14th century and gradually specialized toward the formal alteration of texts and laws.
Related word forms
How amend is actually used
Amend carries a formal register in legal and legislative contexts, where 'amendment' is the standard noun form; in everyday use it can also describe personal improvement, often appearing in the phrase 'amend one's ways.' It implies correction or betterment rather than complete replacement — wholesale rewriting would be described as 'revise' or 'rewrite' instead.
Easily confused with amend
Emend refers specifically to correcting a text, especially scholarly editing of manuscripts, while amend applies more broadly to improving documents, laws, behavior, or situations.
Mend typically means to repair physical objects (like clothing) or to heal, whereas amend means to make formal changes to documents, laws, or conduct.