friend
 /ˈfrɛnd/  noun  ,  pl   friends [  count  ]
  1 : a person who you like and enjoy being with
   I'd like you to meet my friend.
   She is such a good/close/dear friend (of mine).
   We're fast friends. = We're the best of friends.
   He's no friend of mine.
   He has always been a good friend to me. [=he has always helped or supported me as a good friend should]
   She's my best friend. [=my closest friend]
   We are childhood friends. [=we have been friends since we were children]
   old friends [=people who have been friends for a long time]
   She is an old family friend. = She is an old friend of the family. [=she has known and spent time with the family over many years]
   We are just friends. [=we are not in a romantic relationship]
   He wants to be friends with my younger sister. [=he wants to be my sister's friend]
   She is best friends with my younger sister. [=she is my youngest sister's closest friend]
  ◇ Friend is sometimes used in a humorous or ironic way to refer to someone who is annoying or disliked.
   Has our friend with the rude attitude been bothering you lately?
   Don't look now. Here comes your friend.
  2 : a person who helps or supports someone or something (such as a cause or charity)
   She is a friend of the environment. [=she supports environmental causes]
   The strikers knew they had a friend in the senator. [=knew that the senator supported them]
   Are you friend or foe? [=do you support us or oppose us?]
  3 Friend : quaker
  a friend in need is a friend indeed
    — used to say that a friend who will help you when you need help is a true friend
  friends in high places
   ◇ To have friends in high places is to know people with social or political influence or power.
    She got the job because she has friends in high places.
   
  make friends
   : to become someone's friend
    Sometimes it is hard for children to make new friends.
    — often + with
    She's very good at making friends with people from all walks of life.
   
  man's best friend — see man, 1