Entry Word: contain

Function: verb

Meaning: 1 to have within <the top drawer of the cabinet contains my stamp collection>

Synonyms hold

Related Words accommodate, fit; encase, enclose (also inclose), encompass; harbor, house, lodge, shelter

2 to have as part of a whole <the contract contains several new clauses> — see include
3 to be made up of <the recipe contains several parts> — see comprise 1
4 to gain emotional or mental control of <could hardly contain herself when she heard that she had won the scholarship> — see collect 1
5 to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression) <contain the spread of the disease> — see control 1