Definition of BEHOLDEN

Did You Know?

Have you ever found yourself under obligation to someone else for a gift or favor? It's a common experience, and, not surprisingly, many of the words describing this condition have been part of the English language for centuries. "Beholden" was first recorded in writing in the 14th century, in the poem "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." "Indebted," which entered English through Anglo-French, is even older, first appearing in the 13th century. English speakers in the 14th century would also have had another synonym of "beholden" to choose from, a now-obsolete sense of "bounden," which today means "made obligatory" or "binding."

Examples of beholden in a Sentence

not wanting to be beholden to anyone, he insisted on paying his own way

Recent Examples on the Web And China became beholden to Foxconn as the nation’s largest private-sector employer and Apple as a trainer of new technology suppliers. — Yoko Kubota, WSJ, "Tim Cook and Apple Bet Everything on China. Then Coronavirus Hit.," 3 Mar. 2020 Buttigieg came under attack for being too green for the White House, for being dismissive of Washington experience, and for being beholden to big money interests. — Fox News, "Buttigieg Rising: How ex-mayor aims to go 2-for-2 in New Hampshire and upend the 2020 race," 9 Feb. 2020 Winslow has visions of a mermaid washing ashore, while Wake seems entranced by and beholden to the lighthouse’s light, jealously guarding access to the top of the tower and possibly communing with a giant squid. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "The Lighthouse Takes You to the Hellish Ends of the Earth," 18 Oct. 2019 Still, open space advocates circulated a flyer last week suggesting that Westside contributions to Hancock’s re-election left city officials beholden. — Bruce Finley, The Denver Post, "Denver residents take a stand on Park Hill Golf Course as green space dwindles citywide," 4 Aug. 2019 Having experienced months of protests against the political establishment, the Iraqi leadership is fragile yet beholden to pressure from Iran and the U.S. — Time, "Qasem Soleimani's Assassination Opens a Pandora's Box in the Middle East," 3 Jan. 2020 Johnson has promised not to privatize the National Health Service, the country’s pillar of social welfare, and appears less beholden to the austere spending stance of his predecessors. — Cassie Werber, Quartz, "Boris Johnson won. Now the Trump comparisons will be put to the test," 14 Dec. 2019 According to a Gallup poll before the 2018 midterm election, more than half of Americans view members of Congress as corrupt and beholden to special interests rather than to their constituents. — Joe Lonsdale, National Review, "Regulating Speech Won’t Fix Our Politics," 12 Aug. 2019 But more importantly, Baque’s new movement of all-inclusive, culturally-diverse, beholden-to-no-one streetwear, events and creative pursuits has taken off. — Noah Johnson, GQ, "Angelo Baque Is Wide Awake," 2 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'beholden.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.