bound

[ bound ]

/ baʊnd /

verb

simple past tense and past participle of bind.

adjective

tied; in bonds: a bound prisoner.

made fast as if by a band or bond: She is bound to her family.

secured within a cover, as a book.

under a legal or moral obligation: He is bound by the terms of the contract.

destined; sure; certain: It is bound to happen.

determined or resolved: He is bound to go.

Pathology. constipated.

Mathematics. (of a vector) having a specified initial point as well as magnitude and direction. Compare free(def 32).

held with another element, substance, or material in chemical or physical union.

(of a linguistic form) occurring only in combination with other forms, as most affixes. Compare free(def 35).

Idioms for bound

bound up in/with,

inseparably connected with.
devoted or attached to: She is bound up in her teaching.

Origin of bound

past participle and past tense of bind

SYNONYMS FOR bound

5 liable, obligated, obliged, compelled.

OTHER WORDS FROM bound

bound·ness, noun

Words nearby bound

bouncer, bouncing, bouncing bet, bouncy, bouncy castle, bound, bound and determined to, bound for, bound form, bound hand and foot, bound to, be

Definition for bounds (2 of 3)

bound ²

[ bound ]

/ baʊnd /

verb (used without object)

to move by leaps; leap; jump; spring: The colt bounded through the meadow.

to rebound, as a ball; bounce: The ball bounded against the wall.

noun

a leap onward or upward; jump.

a rebound; bounce.

Origin of bound

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)

SYNONYMS FOR bound

1 See skip¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM bound

bound·ing·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bound

bind bound

Definition for bounds (3 of 3)

bound ³

[ bound ]

/ baʊnd /

noun

Usually bounds. limit or boundary: the bounds of space and time; within the bounds of his estate; within the bounds of reason.

something that limits, confines, or restrains.

bounds,

territories on or near a boundary.
land within boundary lines.

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)

to limit by or as if by bounds; keep within limits or confines.

to form the boundary or limit of.

to name or list the boundary of.

verb (used without object)

to abut.

Origin of bound

1175–1225; Middle English bounde < Anglo-French; Old French bone, bonde, variant of bodne < Medieval Latin budina, of uncertain origin; cf. bourn²

SYNONYMS FOR bound

1 border, frontier, confine.

OTHER WORDS FROM bound

bound·a·ble, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for bounds

If the operation caused no physical damage, it would be in bounds.

Cyberwar on North Korea Could Be Illegal |Shane Harris |December 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
If it was the United States, the operation will test the bounds of international law.

Cyberwar on North Korea Could Be Illegal |Shane Harris |December 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Cosby is hardly the first star to step outside the bounds of marriage.

When Your Comic Hero Is an Alleged Rapist |Doug McIntyre |November 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Thanks to George no topic is out of bounds, no language is off limits.

Why George Carlin Deserves His Own Street |Kevin Bartini |October 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Inside the quarantine zone, even more specific procedures were outlined to keep those within the bounds of it safe.

1976 Vs. Today: Ebola’s Terrifying Evolution |Abby Haglage |September 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The very most scandalous crime one could commit at St. Ursula's was to go out of bounds without permission.

Just Patty |Jean Webster
My wretched fate is fixed; I have suffered beyond the bounds of endurance, and can suffer no more.

Married Life |John Baldwin Buckstone
To punish crimes, committed by one tribe, in the bounds of another.

The Indian in his Wigwam |Henry R. Schoolcraft
The ecclesiastic, seeing himself supported, no longer kept any bounds.

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13 |Elbert Hubbard
The other again slipped outside the bounds of their friendship.

The Bright Shawl |Joseph Hergesheimer

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (1 of 5)

bounds

/ (baʊndz) /

pl n

(sometimes singular) a limit; boundary (esp in the phrase know no bounds)

something that restrains or confines, esp the standards of a society within the bounds of modesty

beat the bounds See beat (def. 26)

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (2 of 5)

bound ¹

/ (baʊnd) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of bind

adjective

in bonds or chains; tied with or as if with a rope a bound prisoner

(in combination) restricted; confined housebound; fogbound

(postpositive , foll by an infinitive) destined; sure; certain it's bound to happen

(postpositive, often foll by by) compelled or obliged to act, behave, or think in a particular way, as by duty, circumstance, or convention

(of a book) secured within a cover or binding to deliver bound books See also half-bound

(postpositive, foll by on) US resolved; determined bound on winning

linguistics

denoting a morpheme, such as the prefix non-, that occurs only as part of another word and not as a separate word in itselfCompare free (def. 21)
(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 clauseCompare freestanding

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 (x) (Fx → bxy), x is bound and y is free See free (def. 22)

bound up with closely or inextricably linked with his irritability is bound up with his work

I'll be bound I am sure (something) is true

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (3 of 5)

bound ²

/ (baʊnd) /

verb

to move forwards or make (one's way) by leaps or jumps

to bounce; spring away from an impact

noun

a jump upwards or forwards

by leaps and bounds with unexpectedly rapid progess her condition improved by leaps and bounds

a sudden pronounced sense of excitement his heart gave a sudden bound when he saw her

a bounce, as of a ball

Word Origin for bound

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

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (4 of 5)

bound ³

/ (baʊnd) /

verb

(tr) to place restrictions on; limit

(when intr, foll by on) to form a boundary of (an area of land or sea, political or administrative region, etc)

noun

maths

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 (def. 1)
more generally, an element of an ordered set that has the same ordering relation to all the members of a given subset
whence, an estimate of the extent of some set

See bounds

Word Origin for bound

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

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (5 of 5)

bound ⁴

/ (baʊnd) /

adjective

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

Word Origin for bound

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

Idioms and Phrases with bounds

bound

In addition to the idioms beginning with bound

bound and determined to
bound for
bound hand and foot
bound to, be
bound up in

also see:

by leaps and bounds
duty bound
honor bound
out of bounds
within bounds

Also see underbind.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bound

verb

adjective

Idioms for bound

Origin of bound

SYNONYMS FOR bound

OTHER WORDS FROM bound

Words nearby bound

Definition for bounds (2 of 3)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of bound

SYNONYMS FOR bound

OTHER WORDS FROM bound

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH bound

Definition for bounds (3 of 3)

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of bound

SYNONYMS FOR bound

OTHER WORDS FROM bound

Words related to bounds

Example sentences from the Web for bounds

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (1 of 5)

pl n

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (2 of 5)

verb

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (3 of 5)

verb

noun

Word Origin for bound

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (4 of 5)

verb

noun

Word Origin for bound

British Dictionary definitions for bounds (5 of 5)

adjective

Word Origin for bound

Idioms and Phrases with bounds