contain

verb

con·tain | \ kən-ˈtān

contained; containing; contains

Definition of contain

transitive verb

1 : to keep within limits: such as

a : restrain, control could hardly contain her enthusiasm

b : check, halt contain the spread of a deadly disease Firefighters contained the wildfire.

c : to follow successfully a policy of containment toward efforts to contain Communism

d : to prevent (an enemy or opponent) from advancing or from making a successful attack

2a : to have within : hold The box contains old letters.

b : comprise, include The bill contains several new clauses.

3a : to be divisible by usually without a remainder

b : enclose, bound

intransitive verb

: to restrain oneself

Other Words from contain Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about contain

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Choose the Right Synonym for contain

contain, hold, accommodate mean to have or be capable of having within. contain implies the actual presence of a specified substance or quantity within something. the can contains a quart of oil hold implies the capacity of containing or the usual or permanent function of containing or keeping. the bookcase will hold all my textbooks accommodate stresses holding without crowding or inconvenience. the hall can accommodate 500 people

Examples of contain in a Sentence

The room was barely big enough to contain everyone who came to the meeting. The book contains over 200 recipes. The article contains information on how to plan your retirement. foods that contain a high level of fat The movie contains something for both children and adults. State health officials have succeeded in containing the virus.

Recent Examples on the Web

People get sick inhaling microscopic water droplets containing the legionella bacteria. — CBS News, "Deadly Legionnaires' outbreak at Atlanta hotel a "nationwide problem," attorney says," 12 Aug. 2019 But the team was able to identify signs of nest-building at 22 breeding sites, 14 of which contained nearly 3,000 Goliath eggs each. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "How Did the World’s Largest Frog Get So Big? Possibly by Building Its Own Ponds," 12 Aug. 2019 Current law does not require, local school systems to adopt it, but the Assembly – without knowing what the model curriculum would contain – voted in May to make its use mandatory and a requirement for high school graduation. — Dan Walters, The Mercury News, "Walters: California’s ethnic studies political time bomb explodes," 11 Aug. 2019 Engineers are testing prototypes in a plasma wind tunnel and reckon the winning design will contain a low-melting-point alloy of zinc. — The Economist, "No one has yet been killed by re-entering space junk," 10 Aug. 2019 An evaluation of a cotton pad containing vitamin K and caffeine found that the pad acted as an emollient and drastically reduced the appearance of under-eye circles. — Nikhita Mahtani, CNN Underscored, "Want to fight dark circles? Look for these ingredients in your next eye cream," 10 Aug. 2019 The most notable find was a wreck containing a shipload of mid-3rd-century B.C. amphorae, or ancient jars, from various locations around the Mediterranean. — Fox News, "Stunning cargo-laden ancient shipwrecks discovered off Greek island," 10 Aug. 2019 The explosive devices containing shrapnel were designed to be fired from a 37mm grenade launcher, according to authorities. — Kevin Krause, Dallas News, "Feds are looking for militia man with 'violent tendencies' who mounted armed patrols on South Texas border," 9 Aug. 2019 Until March, Japan explicitly forbade the growth of animal embryos containing human cells beyond 14 days or the transplant of such embryos into a surrogate uterus. — David Cyranoski, Scientific American, "Japan Approves First Human-Animal Embryo Experiments," 9 Aug. 2019

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