English Dictionary

Definition of “bound”

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1bound1 (baʊndPronunciation for bound1) 

Definitions

verb

  1. the past tense and past participle of bind

adjective

  1. in bonds or chains; tied with or as if with a rope  ⇒ a bound prisoner 
  2. (in combination) restricted; confined  ⇒ housebound fogbound 
  3. (postpositive, foll by an infinitive) destined; sure; certain  ⇒ it's bound to happen 
  4. (postpositive) by compelled or obliged to act, behave, or think in a particular way, as by duty, circumstance, or convention
  5. (of a book) secured within a cover or binding  ⇒ to deliver bound books See also half-bound
  6. (postpositive) on US resolved; determined  ⇒ bound on winning 
  7. linguistics 
    1. denoting a morpheme, such as the prefix denoting a morpheme, such as the prefix non-, that occurs only as part of another word and not as a separate word in itself Compare free (sense 21)
    2. (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 Compare freestanding
  8. logic (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 ((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 ) ((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 () (Fx  → (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 () ( → bxy ), (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  is bound and (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 () ( → ), is bound and y is free See free (sense 22)
  9. See bound up with
  10. See I'll be bound

2bound2 (baʊndPronunciation for bound2) 

Definitions

verb

  1. to move forwards or make (one's way) by leaps or jumps
  2. to bounce; spring away from an impact

noun

  1. a jump upwards or forwards
  2. See by leaps and bounds
  3. a sudden pronounced sense of excitement  ⇒ his heart gave a sudden bound when he saw her 
  4. a bounce, as of a ball

Word Origin

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

3bound3 (baʊndPronunciation for bound3) 

Definitions

verb

  1. (tr) to place restrictions on; limit
  2. intr, foll by on to form a boundary of (an area of land or sea, political or administrative region, etc)

noun

  1. mathematics 
    1. 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) See also bounded (sense 1)
    2. more generally, an element of an ordered set that has the same ordering relation to all the members of a given subset
    3. whence, an estimate of the extent of some set
  2. See bounds

Word Origin

C13: from Old French bonde , from Medieval Latin bodina, of Gaulish origin

4bound4 (baʊndPronunciation for bound4) 

Definitions

adjective

    1. (postpositive)  , often foll by for going or intending to go towards; on the way to  ⇒ a ship bound for Jamaica homeward bound 
    2. ((in combination)  ⇒ northbound traffic 

Word Origin

C13: from Old Norse buinn , past participle of būa to prepare

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= going to, travelling to flying to on its way to sailing to

bind (baɪndPronunciation for bind) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: binds, binding, bound
  1. to make or become fast or secure with or as if with a tie or band
  2. (tr) up to encircle or enclose with a band  ⇒ to bind the hair 
  3. (tr) to place (someone) under obligation; oblige
  4. (tr) to impose legal obligations or duties upon (a person or party to an agreement)
  5. (tr) to make (a bargain, agreement, etc) irrevocable; seal
  6. (tr) to restrain or confine with or as if with ties, as of responsibility or loyalty
  7. (tr) to place under certain constraints; govern
  8. (tr) up to bandage or swathe  ⇒ to bind a wound 
  9. to cohere or stick or cause to cohere or stick  ⇒ egg binds fat and flour 
  10. to make or become compact, stiff, or hard  ⇒ frost binds the earth 
    1. (tr) to enclose and fasten (the pages of a book) between covers
    2. (intr) (of a book) to undergo this process
  12. (tr) to provide (a garment, hem, etc) with a border or edging, as for decoration or to prevent fraying
  13. (tr; sometimes foll by out or over) to employ as an apprentice; indenture
  14. (intr) slang to complain
  15. (tr) logic to bring (a variable) into the scope of an appropriate quantifier See also bound1 (sense 9)

noun

  1. something that binds
  2. the act of binding or state of being bound
  3. informal a difficult or annoying situation
  4. another word for bine
  5. music another word for tie (sense 17)
  6. mining clay between layers of coal
  7. fencing a pushing movement with the blade made to force one's opponent's sword from one line into another
  8. 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

See also

bind over

Word Origin

Old English bindan ; related to Old Norse binda , Old High German bintan , Latin offendix band², Sanskrit badhnāti he binds

Usage examples

  • Sooner or later, Cratyn was bound to give into the Dukes ' pressure to exclude her, agreement or no agreement.
    Jennifer Fallon, TREASON KEEP (2001)
  • It docked at Portsmouth bound for Antarctica in 1892. Thereafter, he lived in a cottage garden at Itchen Abbas, Hampshire.
    Country Life (2004)
  • Priests, like many others, find themselves on occasion bound by obligations of confidentiality, sometimes in extremely distressing cases.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Well, the boffins at Opta stats have researched the most productive players in specialist positions, with some entries bound to surprise.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • The rosary he presented her with was mother-of-pearl and her Bible bound with white leather.
    Anne Bennett, WALKING BACK TO HAPPINESS (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'B'

Related Terms

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