bound

1 of 7

adjective (1)

ˈbau̇nd 

1

a

: fastened by or as if by a band : confined

desk-bound

b

: very likely : sure

bound to rain soon

2

: placed under legal or moral restraint or obligation : obliged

duty-bound

3

of a book : secured to the covers by cords, tapes, or glue

leather-bound

4

: determined, resolved

was bound and determined to have his way

5

: held in chemical or physical combination

6

: made costive (see costive sense 1a) : constipated

7

: always occurring in combination with another linguistic form

un- in unknown and -er in speaker are bound forms

compare free entry 1 sense 11d

bound

2 of 7

past tense and past participle of bind

bound

3 of 7

adjective (2)

1

: intending to go : going

bound for home

college-bound

2

archaic : ready

bound

4 of 7

noun (1)

plural bounds

1

: leap, jump

cleared the hedge at a bound

2

: the action of rebounding : bounce

bound

5 of 7

verb (1)

bounded; bounding; bounds

intransitive verb

1

: to move by leaping

deer bounding across a field

She bounded down the stairs.

2

: rebound, bounce

a bounding rubber ball

bound

6 of 7

noun (2)

plural bounds

1

a

: a limiting line : boundary

—usually used in plural

The ball landed out of bounds.

b

: something that limits or restrains

beyond the bounds of decency

police officers overstepping their bound

2

usually bounds

a

: borderland

b

: the land within certain bounds

woodland bounds

3

mathematics : a number greater than or equal to every number in a set (such as the range of a function)

also : a number less than or equal to every number in a set

bound

7 of 7

verb

bounded; bounding; bounds

transitive verb

1

: to form a separating line or the boundary of : enclose

A chain-link fence bounds the yard.

The state is bounded on its east by the Connecticut River.

2

: to set limits to : confine

art … is always greater than the rules with which we may attempt to bound it

—C. S. Kilby

3

: to name the boundaries of

Students were asked to bound their state.

Synonyms

Adjective (1)

• bent (on or upon)
• decisive
• determined
• do-or-die
• firm
• hell-bent (on or upon)
• intent
• out
• purposeful
• resolute
• resolved
• set
• single-minded

Noun (1)

• hop
• jump
• leap
• spring
• vault

Verb (1)

• bounce
• hop
• lollop
• lope
• skip
• trip

Noun (2)

• boundary
• cap
• ceiling
• confines
• end
• extent
• limit
• limitation
• line
• termination

Verb

• circumscribe
• define
• delimit
• demarcate
• demark
• limit
• mark (off)
• terminate

Examples of bound in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

According to the complaint, the family was sitting at a nearby table when George approached them and started mocking the couple's daughter, who was described as having Down syndrome and was wheelchair bound. —Stepheny Price, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2024

After his retirement several years ago, some of us decided to gather his sermons from the past 10 years or so into a bound volume and present it to him. —Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

Another man with cuts and bruises to his face was shown being questioned via an interpreter while sitting on a bench with bound hands and feet. —Guy Faulconbridge, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024

In 2017, passengers on a deportation flight to Somalia said they were left bound and shackled in their seats for 23 hours during a stopover, some forced to soil themselves because they were denied bathroom visits. —Mckenzie Funk, ProPublica, 8 Mar. 2024

This led to an additional improvement of omega’s upper bound, reducing it to 2.371552. —Quanta Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024

Biden and his immediate successors will not be able to peel Beijing away from Moscow the way that U.S. President Richard Nixon did following his 1972 visit to China; China and Russia are too tightly bound, and both see U.S. global leadership as a threat. —Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2024

Abu Al-Ola’s hands remained bound, with the yellow cloth resting across his forehead. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 22 Feb. 2024

The brim is cut, and the edges are either welted, bound, curled, or, in some cases, left raw. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2024

Noun

At one point, Curry stripped Derrick Jones Jr. on a spin move, but threw it out of bounds on the other end. —Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024

Be clear that advocating for the ex is out of bounds and demeaning to you. —Haben Kelati, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024

Institutional platforms must operate within the bounds of compliance, adhering to regulatory requirements and providing robust reporting tools. —Tyler Shepherd, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2024

Unifying these film is an effort by filmmakers to move audiences outside of their comfort zones and to experiment with the perceptual bounds of documentary film. —Brendel Hightower, Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024

Those who embark on such an adventure must be physically fit and have years of consistent experiences skiing in bounds and out of bounds in backcountry terrain. —Melissa McGibbon, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2024

If the ball is kicked out of bounds, it will be placed at the 40. —Daniel Oyefusi, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024

Two minutes into the fourth quarter as the Nuggets were trying to conjure more second-unit magic, Doncic clanked a 3-pointer but chased down his own rebound in mid-air behind the baseline, chucking it off an unsuspecting opponent then out of bounds. —Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 17 Mar. 2024

To read now that Santa Clara County, on the heels of the county counsel’s egregious overstepping of their bounds in the preventable deaths of baby Phoenix and other children, now allows parents suspected of abuse to sit in on their children’s interviews is unfathomable. —Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024

Verb

In May, San Diego at Gloria’s behest offered for sale or lease the four blocks commonly known as the Civic Center — bounded by A Street and C Street to the north and south, and First Avenue and Third Avenue to the east and west — and a fifth block at 101 Ash St. —Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2024

One immediate beneficiary of the donations will be the Domenica Park development itself, an 18-home plan on 3.77 acres bounded by Oakland Avenue, Ellis Street and Greenfield Avenue north of East Broadway. —Jim Riccioli, Journal Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2024

That phobia takes a tangible turn when Dark (recent Emmy winner Paul Walter Hauser) comes bounding out of the closet, asking (OK, insisting) that Orion spend a night with him in order to conquer what scares him. —Brian Lowry, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024

His young son, Daniele, in a bright yellow jump suit, merrily bounded in, to his father’s delight. —Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024

About 15 minutes before first pitch, Bob Melvin bounds down the staircase from the clubhouse and passes by Williams, making his way away from the field. —Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2024

Bosa’s new condo tower will be bounded by B Street, Eighth Avenue, C Street and Ninth Avenue. —Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024

The area is bounded by 20th Street, Greenfield Avenue, North Avenue, and Lake Michigan. —Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2024

The area is north of East Belknap Street and bounded by the Trinity River to the north, Interstate 35W to the east and Cold Spring Road to the west. —Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

Middle English bounden, from past participle of binden to bind

Adjective (2)

Middle English boun, from Old Norse būinn, past participle of būa to dwell, prepare; akin to Old High German būan to dwell — more at bower

Noun (1) and Verb (1)

Middle French bond, from bondir to leap, from Vulgar Latin *bombitire to hum, from Latin bombus deep hollow sound — more at bomb entry 1

Noun (2) and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French bounde, bodne, from Medieval Latin bodina

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective (2)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (1)

circa 1556, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing bound

• bound and determined
• bound and gagged
• bound to say
• duty bound
• half-bound
• honor bound
• homeward bound
• bound up
• I'll be bound
• outward-bound
• pot bound
• root bound
• muscle-bound
• quarter-bound
• spiral-bound
• three-quarter-bound
• weather-bound

Kids Definition

bound

1 of 7 adjective

ˈbau̇nd 

: going or intending to go

bound for home

college-bound

bound

2 of 7 noun

1

: a boundary line

2

: a point or line beyond which one cannot go : limit

out of bounds

3

: the land within a boundary

—usually used in plural

bound

3 of 7 verb

1

: to set limits to : confine

2

a

: to form the boundary of : enclose

b

: to lie next to

3

: to name the boundaries of

bound

4 of 7

past and past participle of bind

bound

5 of 7 adjective

1

: fastened by or as if by bands : confined

desk-bound

2

: required by law or duty

3

: having a binding

bound notebook

4

: firmly determined

we were bound we would succeed

5

: very likely to do something : certain, sure

6

: always found in combination with another word or word part (as un- in unknown and -er in speaker)

bound

6 of 7 noun

1

: a long easy leap

2

: bounce entry 2 sense 1b, rebound

bound

7 of 7 verb

1

: to move by leaping

2

: rebound entry 1 sense 1, bounce

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English boun "ready"; of Norse origin

Noun

Middle English bound "boundary," from early French bodne (same meaning), from Latin bodina "boundary"

Adjective

Middle English bounden "fastened, tied," from binden "bind"

Noun

from early French bond "a leap," from bondir "to leap"

Medical Definition

bound

adjective

ˈbau̇nd 

1

: made costive : constipated

2

: held in chemical or physical combination

bound water in a molecule

Legal Definition

bound

1 of 4 noun

1

: boundary

—usually used in pl.

metes and bounds

2

: something that limits or restrains

within the bounds of the law

bound

2 of 4

past and past participle of bind

bound

3 of 4 transitive verb

: to form the boundary of or enclose

property bounded on the north by a stone wall

bound

4 of 4 adjective

: placed under a legal or moral restraint or obligation