bondage

noun

bond·​age ˈbän-dij 

plural bondages

1

: a state of being bound usually by compulsion (as of law): such as

a

: slavery, serfdom

Historically, the two most prevalent types of legal bondage were serfdom and chattel slavery.

—Michael Bush

More than 150 years after enslaved Africans and their descendants were released from bondage through ratification of the 13th Amendment, the slavery exception continues to permit the exploitation of labor by incarcerated individuals.

—Aaron Morrison

In the Thar desert of Pakistan, generations of families are trapped in debt bondage, forced to work for years in brick kilns to repay loans from the kiln owners.

—Isaiah Reynolds et al.

b

: servitude or subjugation to a controlling person or force

How can one company control the world's seed supply? When one gigantic corporate entity is allowed to block farmers from planting a seed without compensating that monopoly, the farmers are held in bondage to uncontrolled price increases.

—John Boyd

Do you have the freedom of self-control or are you in bondage to your desires?

—David Brooks

2

: sadomasochistic sexual practices involving the physical restraint of one partner

Synonyms

• enslavement
• servility
• servitude
• slavery
• thrall
• thralldom
• thraldom
• yoke

Examples of bondage in a Sentence

a population held in bondage

Recent Examples on the Web

Gorsuch calls out 'bondage' in children’s LGBTQ storybook 3. —FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Lawler: Long before Lord Dunmore promised emancipation to those enslaved, those in bondage already were fleeing to British lines. —Ari Daniel, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025

The court declared that this man was free and could not be held in bondage. —Ari Daniel, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025

Reverend Back says Easter is the oldest of Christian celebrations, Jesus’s tradition of Passover, according to Hebrews — from bondage into freedom and for Christians — from death into life. —Gina Grillo, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from bonde customary tenant, from Middle English

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bondage

noun

bond·​age ˈbän-dij 

: the state of being an enslaved person or serf