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bind
[ bahynd ]
verb (used with object)
- to fasten or secure with a band or bond.
- to encircle with a band or ligature:
She bound her hair with a ribbon.
- to swathe or bandage (often followed by up ):
to bind up one's wounds.
- to fasten around; fix in place by girding:
They bound his hands behind him.
- to tie up (anything, as sheaves of grain).
- to cause to cohere:
Ice bound the soil.
- to unite by any legal or moral tie:
to be bound by a contract.
- to hold to a particular state, place, employment, etc.:
Business kept him bound to the city.
- to place under obligation or compulsion (usually used passively):
We are bound by good sense to obey the country's laws.
- Law. to put under legal obligation, as to keep the peace or appear as a witness (often followed by over ):
This action binds them to keep the peace. He was bound over to the grand jury.
- to make compulsory or obligatory:
to bind the order with a deposit.
- to fasten or secure within a cover, as a book:
They will bind the new book in leather.
- to cover the edge of, as for protection or ornament:
to bind a carpet.
- (of clothing) to chafe or restrict (the wearer):
This shirt binds me under the arms.
- Medicine/Medical. to hinder or restrain (the bowels) from their natural function; constipate.
- to indenture as an apprentice (often followed by out ):
In his youth his father bound him to a blacksmith.
verb (used without object)
- to become compact or solid; cohere:
The eggs and the flour bind, creating a stable cake.
- to be obligatory:
It is a duty that binds.
- to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments:
This jacket binds through the shoulders.
- to get stuck or cease to move freely:
Overheating made the drill bit bind in the wood.
- to temporarily flatten one's breast tissue using compression garments or strips of fabric, often done by gender-diverse people as part of their gender expression:
I feel pretty masculine today, so I think I'll bind.
- Falconry. (of a hawk) to grapple or grasp prey firmly in flight (usually followed by to ):
The falcon binds to the pheasant and then carries it to the hunter.
noun
- the act or process of binding; the state or instance of being bound.
- something that binds.
- Informal. a difficult situation or predicament:
This schedule has us in a bind.
- Music. a tie, slur, or brace.
- Falconry. the act of binding to prey in flight.
verb phrase
- Knitting. to loop (one stitch) over another in making an edge on knitted fabric.
bind
/ baɪnd /
verb
- to make or become fast or secure with or as if with a tie or band
- troften foll byup to encircle or enclose with a band
to bind the hair
- tr to place (someone) under obligation; oblige
- tr to impose legal obligations or duties upon (a person or party to an agreement)
- tr to make (a bargain, agreement, etc) irrevocable; seal
- tr to restrain or confine with or as if with ties, as of responsibility or loyalty
- tr to place under certain constraints; govern
- troften foll byup to bandage or swathe
to bind a wound
- to cohere or stick or cause to cohere or stick
egg binds fat and flour
- to make or become compact, stiff, or hard
frost binds the earth
- tr to enclose and fasten (the pages of a book) between covers
- intr (of a book) to undergo this process
- tr to provide (a garment, hem, etc) with a border or edging, as for decoration or to prevent fraying
- tr; sometimes foll by out or over to employ as an apprentice; indenture
- slang.intr to complain
- tr logic to bring (a variable) into the scope of an appropriate quantifier See also bound 1
noun
- something that binds
- the act of binding or state of being bound
- informal.a difficult or annoying situation
- another word for bine
- music another word for tie
- mining clay between layers of coal
- fencing a pushing movement with the blade made to force one's opponent's sword from one line into another
- chess a position in which one player's pawns have a hold on the centre that makes it difficult for the opponent to advance there
bind
/ bīnd /
- To combine with, form a bond with, or be taken up by a chemical or chemical structure. An enzyme, for example, is structured in such a way as to be able to bind with its substrate.
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Other Words From
- bind·a·ble adjective
- mis·bind verb misbound misbinding
- re·bind verb rebound rebinding
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Word History and Origins
Origin of bind1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of bind1
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Idioms and Phrases
- in a bind
- bound
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Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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