"fends" in the verb sense
1. fend
try to manage without help
"The youngsters had to fend for themselves after their parents died"
2. resist, stand, fend
withstand the force of something
"The trees resisted her"
"stand the test of time"
"The mountain climbers had to fend against the ice and snow"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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