Bound

//ˈbaʊnd// adj, name, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Obliged (to). not-comparable, with-infinitive

    "You are not legally bound to reply."

  2. 2
    Ready, prepared. obsolete

    "This certain,—that a band of war / Has for two days been ready boune, / At prompt command to march from Doune […]."

  3. 3
    That cannot stand alone as a free word. not-comparable
  4. 4
    Ready to start or go (to); moving in the direction (of).

    "Which way are you bound? —I'm already homeward bound."

  5. 5
    Constrained by a quantifier. not-comparable
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  1. 6
    Very likely (to), certain to with-infinitive

    "They were bound to come into conflict eventually."

  2. 7
    Constipated; costive. dated, not-comparable
  3. 8
    Confined or restricted to a certain place. not-comparable

    "railbound"

  4. 9
    Unable to move in certain conditions. not-comparable

    "snowbound"

Adjective
  1. 1
    confined by bonds wordnet
  2. 2
    secured with a cover or binding; often used as a combining form wordnet
  3. 3
    (usually followed by ‘to’) governed by fate wordnet
  4. 4
    confined in the bowels wordnet
  5. 5
    held with another element, substance or material in chemical or physical union wordnet
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  1. 6
    bound by contract wordnet
  2. 7
    headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in ‘college-bound students’ wordnet
  3. 8
    covered or wrapped with a bandage wordnet
  4. 9
    bound by an oath wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    A boundary, the border which one must cross in order to enter or leave a territory. often

    "I reached the northern bound of my property, took a deep breath and walked on."

  2. 2
    A sizeable jump, great leap.

    "The deer crossed the stream in a single bound."

  3. 3
    a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards wordnet
  4. 4
    A value which is known to be greater or smaller than a given set of values.
  5. 5
    A spring from one foot to the other in dancing.
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  1. 6
    the greatest possible degree of something wordnet
  2. 7
    A bounce; a rebound. dated

    "Balzo, a bound of a ball"

  3. 8
    the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something wordnet
  4. 9
    a line determining the limits of an area wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of bind form-of, participle, past

    "I bound the splint to my leg."

  2. 2
    To surround a territory or other geographical entity; to form the boundary of. transitive

    "France, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra bound Spain."

  3. 3
    To leap, move by jumping. intransitive

    "The rabbit bounded down the lane."

  4. 4
    place limits on (extent or amount or access) wordnet
  5. 5
    To be the bound of. transitive
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    To cause to leap. transitive

    "to bound a horse"

  2. 7
    spring back; spring away from an impact wordnet
  3. 8
    To rebound; to bounce. dated, intransitive

    "A rubber ball bounds on the floor."

  4. 9
    move forward by leaps and bounds wordnet
  5. 10
    To cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound; to bounce. dated, transitive

    "to bound a ball on the floor"

  6. 11
    form the boundary of; be contiguous to wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bound, bund (preterite) and bounden, bunden, ibunden, ȝebunden (past participle), from Old English bund- and bunden, ġebunden respectively. See bind.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bound, bund (preterite) and bounden, bunden, ibunden, ȝebunden (past participle), from Old English bund- and bunden, ġebunden respectively. See bind.

Etymology 3

From Middle English bownde, alternation (with -d partly for euphonic effect and partly by association with Etymology 1 above) of Middle English boun, from Old Norse búinn, past participle of búa (“to prepare”).

Etymology 4

From Middle English bounde, from Old French bunne, from Medieval Latin bodina, earlier butina (“a bound, limit”).

Etymology 5

From Middle English bounden, from the noun (see above).

Etymology 6

From Middle English *bounden (attested as bounten), from French bondir (“leap", "bound", originally "make a loud resounding noise”); perhaps from Late Latin bombitāre (“hum, buzz”), frequentative verb, from Latin bombus (“a humming or buzzing”).

Etymology 7

From Middle English *bounden (attested as bounten), from French bondir (“leap", "bound", originally "make a loud resounding noise”); perhaps from Late Latin bombitāre (“hum, buzz”), frequentative verb, from Latin bombus (“a humming or buzzing”).

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