Fender bender

Meaning

A fender bender is a small car accident: a bump in a parking lot, a tap at a red light, a scratched door. Nobody's hurt and the cars can still drive. The fender is the part of the car over the wheel, and in a light crash it's the part that gets bent. The rhyme, fender and bender, makes the phrase sound light, and that's the point: it tells people not to panic.

It's informal American English, but not slang in a rude way. You can say it to your boss when you arrive late, to your family, or to a friend. Use it only when the accident really was minor. If someone went to the hospital, calling it a fender bender sounds careless; say "a car accident" or "a crash" instead.

In British English you'll hear "a bump" or "a prang". On the phone with an insurance company, the neutral words are "a minor accident" or "a collision".