Meaning & use
fender benders
Last updated
“fender benders” is a form of “fender bender”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounpluralinformalAmerican
Plural of fender bender: small car accidents that cause little damage and usually no injury.
Grammar: Plural of fender bender: two fender benders on the same street.
Patterns
- fender benders at somewhere
Icy mornings cause plenty of fender benders in our town.
There were two fender benders at the intersection today.
Most fender benders are over in minutes, though the paperwork takes longer.
Common combinations
- minor fender benders
- The storm led to dozens of minor fender benders.
- cause fender benders
- Heavy rain can cause fender benders.
- avoid fender benders
- Leaving more space helps avoid fender benders.
- fender benders on the highway
- Fender benders on the highway slowed traffic.
- report fender benders
- Some drivers do not report fender benders to the police.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scrapes
- is more casual and suggests surface paint damage, not necessarily a collision with another car.
- minor collisions
- is the neutral phrase and fits formal reports better than fender benders.
- prangs
- is the British informal equivalent, used for small car bumps.
- crashes
- suggests more serious damage, whereas fender benders are small and cheap to fix.
Opposites
Word family
- fender bender noun
- a single minor car accident
- fender noun
- the part of a car over a wheel
- bend verb
- to change shape under force
- bumper noun
- the front or rear guard on a car
Commonly confused: fender benders or bumper?
fender benders vs bumper
The bumper is the front or back guard; the fender covers the wheel area, which is why the idiom uses fender.
Practice
Which event would most likely be called a fender bender?
Choose one answer.
A fender bender is a small, low-damage car accident. The other choices are different events or far more serious.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fender benders”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.