Related Searches
Nearby Words
Synonyms

bound

 [bound]   Example Sentences Origin

bound

1   [bound]
verb
1.
simple past tense and past participle of bind.
adjective
2.
tied; in bonds: a bound prisoner.
3.
made fast as if by a band or bond: She is bound to her family.
4.
secured within a cover, as a book.
5.
under a legal or moral obligation: He is bound by the terms of the contract.
6.
destined; sure; certain: It is bound to happen.
EXPAND
7.
determined or resolved: He is bound to go.
8.
Pathology. constipated.
9.
Mathematics. (of a vector) having a specified initial point as well as magnitude and direction. Compare free (def. 31).
10.
held with another element, substance, or material in chemical or physical union.
11.
(of a linguistic form) occurring only in combination with other forms, as most affixes. Compare free (def. 34).
COLLAPSE

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Bound is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
to flee; abscond:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Idiom
12.
bound up in/with,
a.
inseparably connected with.
b.
devoted or attached to: She is bound up in her teaching.
Origin:
past participle and past tense of bind

Related forms
bound·ness, noun

Synonyms
5. liable, obligated, obliged, compelled.

Example Sentences
  • Someone's bound to have another story.
  • Long term, the market is bound to go up.
  • Then the spine of a book bound in cloth and leather caught Connolly's eye.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

bound

2   [bound]
verb (used without object)
1.
to move by leaps; leap; jump; spring: The colt bounded through the meadow.
2.
to rebound, as a ball; bounce: The ball bounded against the wall.
noun
3.
a leap onward or upward; jump.
4.
a rebound; bounce.
Origin:
1545–55; < Middle French bond a leap, bondir to leap, orig. resound ≪ Vulgar Latin *bombitīre for *bombitāre to buzz, whiz (Latin bomb(us) (see bomb) + -it- intensive suffix + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix)

Related forms
bound·ing·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. See skip1.

bound

3   [bound]
noun
1.
Usually, bounds. limit or boundary: the bounds of space and time; within the bounds of his estate; within the bounds of reason.
2.
something that limits, confines, or restrains.
3.
bounds,
a.
territories on or near a boundary.
b.
land within boundary lines.
4.
Mathematics. a number greater than or equal to, or less than or equal to, all the numbers in a given set. Compare greatest lower bound, least upper bound, lower bound, upper bound.
verb (used with object)
5.
to limit by or as if by bounds; keep within limits or confines.
6.
to form the boundary or limit of.
7.
to name or list the boundaries of.
verb (used without object)
8.
to abut.
Idiom
9.
out of bounds,
a.
beyond the official boundaries, prescribed limits, or restricted area: The ball bounced out of bounds.
b.
forbidden; prohibited: The park is out of bounds to students.
Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English bounde < Anglo-French; Old French bone, bonde, variant of bodne < Medieval Latin budina, of uncertain origin; compare bourn2

Related forms
bound·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. border, frontier, confine.

bound

4   [bound]
adjective
1.
going or intending to go; on the way to; destined (usually followed by for): The train is bound for Denver.
2.
Archaic. prepared; ready.
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English b(o)un ready < Old Norse būinn, past participle of būa to get ready

-bound

1 
a combining form of bound1: snowbound.

-bound

2 
a combining form of bound4: eastbound.

bind

   [bahynd] verb, bound, bind·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to fasten or secure with a band or bond.
2.
to encircle with a band or ligature: She bound her hair with a ribbon.
3.
to swathe or bandage (often followed by up): to bind up one's wounds.
4.
to fasten around; fix in place by girding: They bound his hands behind him.
5.
to tie up (anything, as sheaves of grain).
EXPAND
6.
to cause to cohere: Ice bound the soil.
7.
to unite by any legal or moral tie: to be bound by a contract.
8.
to hold to a particular state, place, employment, etc.: Business kept him bound to the city.
9.
to place under obligation or compulsion (usually used passively): We are bound by good sense to obey the country's laws.
10.
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.
11.
to make compulsory or obligatory: to bind the order with a deposit.
12.
to fasten or secure within a cover, as a book: They will bind the new book in leather.
13.
to cover the edge of, as for protection or ornament: to bind a carpet.
14.
(of clothing) to chafe or restrict (the wearer): This shirt binds me under the arms.
15.
Medicine/Medical. to hinder or restrain (the bowels) from their natural operations; constipate.
16.
to indenture as an apprentice (often followed by out): In his youth his father bound him to a blacksmith.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
17.
to become compact or solid; cohere.
18.
to be obligatory: an obligation that binds.
19.
to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments: This jacket binds through the shoulders.
20.
to stick fast, as a drill in a hole.
21.
Falconry. (of a hawk) to grapple or grasp prey firmly in flight.
noun
22.
the act or process of binding; the state or instance of being bound.
23.
something that binds.
24.
Music. a tie, slur, or brace.
25.
Falconry. the act of binding.
26.
Informal. a difficult situation or predicament: This schedule has us in a bind.
Verb phrase
27.
bind off, Textiles. to loop (one stitch) over another in making an edge on knitted fabric.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English binden (v.), Old English bindan; cognate with Old High German bintan, Old Norse binda, Gothic bindan, Sanskrit bandhati (he) binds

Related forms
bind·a·ble, adjective
mis·bind, verb, -bound, -bind·ing.
re·bind, verb, -bound, -bind·ing.

Can be confused: bind, bound.

Synonyms
1. gird, attach, tie. 2. confine, restrain. 9. engage, oblige, obligate.

Antonyms
1. untie.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To bound
Collins
World English Dictionary
bound1 (baʊnd)
 
—vb
1.  the past tense and past participle of bind
 
—adj (, often foll by by) (, foll by on)
2.  in bonds or chains; tied with or as if with a rope: a bound prisoner
3.  (in combination) restricted; confined: housebound; fogbound
4.  (postpositive, foll by an infinitive) destined; sure; certain: it's bound to happen
5.  compelled or obliged to act, behave, or think in a particular way, as by duty, circumstance, or convention
6.  See also half-bound (of a book) secured within a cover or binding: to deliver bound books
7.  (US) resolved; determined: bound on winning
8.  linguistics
 a.  Compare free denoting a morpheme, such as the prefix non-, that occurs only as part of another word and not as a separate word in itself
 b.  Compare freestanding (in systemic grammar) denoting a clause that has a nonfinite predicator or that is introduced by a binder, and that occurs only together with a freestanding clause
9.  logic See free (of a variable) occurring within the scope of a quantifier that indicates the degree of generality of the open sentence in which the variable occurs: in (x) (Fx → bxy), x is bound and y is free
10.  bound up with closely or inextricably linked with: his irritability is bound up with his work
11.  I'll be bound I am sure (something) is true

bound2 (baʊnd)
 
—vb
1.  to move forwards or make (one's way) by leaps or jumps
2.  to bounce; spring away from an impact
 
—n
3.  a jump upwards or forwards
4.  by leaps and bounds with unexpectedly rapid progess: her condition improved by leaps and bounds
5.  a sudden pronounced sense of excitement: his heart gave a sudden bound when he saw her
6.  a bounce, as of a ball
 
[C16: from Old French bond a leap, from bondir to jump, resound, from Vulgar Latin bombitīre (unattested) to buzz, hum, from Latin bombus booming sound]

bound3 (baʊnd)
 
—vb (when intr, foll by on)
1.  (tr) to place restrictions on; limit
2.  to form a boundary of (an area of land or sea, political or administrative region, etc)
 
—n
3.  maths
 a.  See also bounded a number which is greater than all the members of a set of numbers (an upper bound), or less than all its members (a lower bound)
 b.  more generally, an element of an ordered set that has the same ordering relation to all the members of a given subset
 c.  whence, an estimate of the extent of some set
4.  See bounds
 
[C13: from Old French bonde, from Medieval Latin bodina, of Gaulish origin]

bound4 (baʊnd)
 
—adj (, often foll by for)
a.  going or intending to go towards; on the way to: a ship bound for Jamaica; homeward bound
 b.  (in combination): northbound traffic
 
[C13: from Old Norse buinn, past participle of būa to prepare]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bind
O.E. bindan "to tie up with bonds" (literally and figuratively), also "to make captive; to cover with dressings and bandages" (class III strong verb; past tense band, pp. bunden), from PIE base *bhendh- "to bind" (see bend). A derived noun, in various senses, traces back to
EXPAND
late Anglo-Saxon times; meaning "tight or awkward situation" is from 1851.

bound
"to leap," 1580s, from Fr. bondir "to rebound, resound, echo," from O.Fr. bondir "to leap, rebound; make a noise, beat (a drum)," 13c., ultimately "to echo back," from V.L. *bombitire "to buzz, hum" (see bomb), perhaps on model of O.Fr. tentir from V.L. *tinnitire.

bound
"fastened," mid-14c., in figurative sense of "compelled," from bounden, pp. of bind (q.v.). Meaning "under obligation" is from late 15c.; the literal sense "made fast by tying" is the latest recorded (1550s).

bound
"ready to go," c.1200, boun, from O.N. buinn pp. of bua "to prepare," also "to dwell, to live," from P.Gmc. *bowan (cf. O.H.G. buan "to dwell," O.Dan. both "dwelling, stall"), from PIE base *bheue- "to be, exist, dwell" (see be). Final -d is presumably through association with bound (adj.1).

bound
"limit," c.1200, from Anglo-L. bunda, from O.Fr. bonde "limit, boundary, boundary stone" (12c., Mod.Fr. borne), variant of bodne, from M.L. bodina, perhaps from Gaulish. Now chiefly in out of bounds, which originally referred to limits imposed on students at schools. The verb meaning "to form the boundary
of" is from c.1600. Boundless is from 1590s.
COLLAPSE

bound
past tense of bind (v.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bind   (bīnd)  Pronunciation Key 
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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

bind definition


  1. n.
    a problem; a wrinkle. : Unfortunately, a new bind has slowed down the project.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

bound

In addition to the idioms beginning with bound, also see by leaps and bounds; duty bound; honor bound; out of bounds; within bounds. Also see under bind.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT