bind

[ bahynd ]
See synonyms for bind on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),bound, bind·ing.
  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.

  1. to swathe or bandage (often followed by up): to bind up one's wounds.

  2. to fasten around; fix in place by girding: They bound his hands behind him.

  3. to tie up (anything, as sheaves of grain).

  4. to cause to cohere: Ice bound the soil.

  5. to unite by any legal or moral tie: to be bound by a contract.

  6. to hold to a particular state, place, employment, etc.: Business kept him bound to the city.

  7. to place under obligation or compulsion (usually used passively): We are bound by good sense to obey the country's laws.

  8. 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.

  9. to make compulsory or obligatory: to bind the order with a deposit.

  10. to fasten or secure within a cover, as a book: They will bind the new book in leather.

  11. to cover the edge of, as for protection or ornament: to bind a carpet.

  12. (of clothing) to chafe or restrict (the wearer): This shirt binds me under the arms.

  13. Medicine/Medical. to hinder or restrain (the bowels) from their natural function; constipate.

  14. to indenture as an apprentice (often followed by out): In his youth his father bound him to a blacksmith.

verb (used without object),bound, bind·ing.
  1. to become compact or solid; cohere: The eggs and the flour bind, creating a stable cake.

  2. to be obligatory: It is a duty that binds.

  1. to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments: This jacket binds through the shoulders.

  2. to get stuck or cease to move freely: Overheating made the drill bit bind in the wood.

  3. 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.

  4. 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
  1. the act or process of binding; the state or instance of being bound.

  2. something that binds.

  1. Informal. a difficult situation or predicament: This schedule has us in a bind.

  2. Music. a tie, slur, or brace.

  3. Falconry. the act of binding to prey in flight.

Verb Phrases
  1. bind off, Knitting. to loop (one stitch) over another in making an edge on knitted fabric.

Origin of bind

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English binden (verb), Old English bindan; cognate with Old High German bintan, Old Norse binda, Gothic bindan, Sanskrit bandhati “(he) binds”

Other words for bind

Opposites for bind

Other words from bind

  • bind·a·ble, adjective
  • mis·bind, verb, mis·bound, mis·bind·ing.
  • re·bind, verb, re·bound, re·bind·ing.

Words that may be confused with bind

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bind in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bind

bind

/ (baɪnd) /


verbbinds, binding or bound
  1. to make or become fast or secure with or as if with a tie or band

  2. (tr often foll by up) to encircle or enclose with a band: to bind the hair

  1. (tr) to place (someone) under obligation; oblige

  2. (tr) to impose legal obligations or duties upon (a person or party to an agreement)

  3. (tr) to make (a bargain, agreement, etc) irrevocable; seal

  4. (tr) to restrain or confine with or as if with ties, as of responsibility or loyalty

  5. (tr) to place under certain constraints; govern

  6. (tr often foll by up) to bandage or swathe: to bind a wound

  7. to cohere or stick or cause to cohere or stick: egg binds fat and flour

  8. 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

  9. (tr) to provide (a garment, hem, etc) with a border or edging, as for decoration or to prevent fraying

  10. (tr; sometimes foll by out or over) to employ as an apprentice; indenture

  11. (intr) slang to complain

  12. (tr) logic to bring (a variable) into the scope of an appropriate quantifier: See also bound 1 (def. 9)

noun
  1. something that binds

  2. the act of binding or state of being bound

  1. informal a difficult or annoying situation

  2. another word for bine

  3. music another word for tie (def. 17)

  4. mining clay between layers of coal

  5. fencing a pushing movement with the blade made to force one's opponent's sword from one line into another

  6. 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

Origin of bind

1
Old English bindan; related to Old Norse binda, Old High German bintan, Latin offendix band ², Sanskrit badhnāti he binds

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for bind

bind

[ bīnd ]


  1. 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 © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with bind

bind

In addition to the idioms beginning with bind

  • bind hand and foot
  • bind over

also see:

  • in a bind

Also see underbound.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.