bind
Americanverb (used with object)
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binds,
present (3rd person singular)
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bound,
past participle, past
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binding
present participle
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to fasten or secure with a band or bond.
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to encircle with a band or ligature.
She bound her hair with a ribbon.
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to swathe or bandage (often followed byup ).
to bind up one's wounds.
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to fasten around; fix in place by girding.
They bound his hands behind him.
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to tie up (anything, as sheaves of grain).
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to cause to cohere.
Ice bound the soil.
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to unite by any legal or moral tie.
to be bound by a contract.
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to hold to a particular state, place, employment, etc..
Business kept him bound to the city.
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to place under obligation or compulsion (usually used passively).
We are bound by good sense to obey the country's laws.
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Law. to put under legal obligation, as to keep the peace or appear as a witness (often followed byover ).
This action binds them to keep the peace. He was bound over to the grand jury.
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to make compulsory or obligatory.
to bind the order with a deposit.
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to fasten or secure within a cover, as a book.
They will bind the new book in leather.
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to cover the edge of, as for protection or ornament.
to bind a carpet.
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(of clothing) to chafe or restrict (the wearer).
This shirt binds me under the arms.
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Medicine/Medical. to hinder or restrain (the bowels) from their natural function; constipate.
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to indenture as an apprentice (often followed byout ).
In his youth his father bound him to a blacksmith.
verb (used without object)
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binds,
present (3rd person singular)
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bound,
past participle, past
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binding
present participle
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to become compact or solid; cohere.
The eggs and the flour bind, creating a stable cake.
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to be obligatory.
It is a duty that binds.
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to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments.
This jacket binds through the shoulders.
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to get stuck or cease to move freely.
Overheating made the drill bit bind in the wood.
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to temporarily flatten one's breast tissue using compression garments or strips of fabric, often done by gender-diverse people as part of their gender expression.
I feel pretty masculine today, so I think I'll bind.
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Falconry. (of a hawk) to grapple or grasp prey firmly in flight (usually followed byto ).
The falcon binds to the pheasant and then carries it to the hunter.
noun
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binds
plural
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the act or process of binding; the state or instance of being bound.
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something that binds.
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Informal. a difficult situation or predicament.
This schedule has us in a bind.
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Music. a tie, slur, or brace.
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Falconry. the act of binding to prey in flight.
verb phrase
verb
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to make or become fast or secure with or as if with a tie or band
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to encircle or enclose with a band
to bind the hair
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(tr) to place (someone) under obligation; oblige
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(tr) to impose legal obligations or duties upon (a person or party to an agreement)
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(tr) to make (a bargain, agreement, etc) irrevocable; seal
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(tr) to restrain or confine with or as if with ties, as of responsibility or loyalty
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(tr) to place under certain constraints; govern
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to bandage or swathe
to bind a wound
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to cohere or stick or cause to cohere or stick
egg binds fat and flour
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to make or become compact, stiff, or hard
frost binds the earth
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(tr) to enclose and fasten (the pages of a book) between covers
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(intr) (of a book) to undergo this process
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(tr) to provide (a garment, hem, etc) with a border or edging, as for decoration or to prevent fraying
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(tr; sometimes foll by out or over) to employ as an apprentice; indenture
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slang (intr) to complain
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(tr) logic to bring (a variable) into the scope of an appropriate quantifier See also bound 1
noun
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something that binds
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the act of binding or state of being bound
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informal a difficult or annoying situation
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another word for bine
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music another word for tie
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mining clay between layers of coal
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fencing a pushing movement with the blade made to force one's opponent's sword from one line into another
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chess a position in which one player's pawns have a hold on the centre that makes it difficult for the opponent to advance there
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bindsimple
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bindssimple
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have boundperfect
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has boundperfect
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am bindingprogressive
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are bindingprogressive
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is bindingprogressive
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have been bindingperfect progressive
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has been bindingperfect progressive
Past
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boundsimple
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had boundperfect
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was bindingprogressive
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were bindingprogressive
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had been bindingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bind
First recorded before 1000; Middle English binden (verb), Old English bindan; cognate with Old High German bintan, Old Norse binda, Gothic bindan, Sanskrit bandhati “(he) binds”
Explanation
If you're in a bind, you have been hindered by some situation. You'll find yourself in a bind if you agree to bring dessert to a party, only to realize that you're out of fruit, sugar, and chocolate chips. The verb bind means to tie, secure, or fasten as with string or rope. When you put a Christmas tree on the top of your car, you need to bind it with twine to make sure it stays there while you drive. The past tense of bind is "bound." To bind is also to create an emotional attachment. Your love for your family binds you to them.
Vocabulary lists containing bind
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 3
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
His government banned its use in federal executions but that did not bind individual states such as Tennessee, which can choose their own methods.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Those carriers already challenged by the current economic environment, meanwhile, are in a bigger bind.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Rules followed by American companies are also unlikely to bind foreign rivals, a hostile government, or a clandestine organization.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Gluons are particles that help bind quarks together through the strong force.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
Fingers bleeding, we pluck the sharp, pointy, sticky bolls, stuff them into sacks, then press them into bales and bind them with cord.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Bacteria inside the body depend on iron, but lactoferrin binds tightly to the element, making it much harder for microbes to access.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Only through a renewed encounter with Athens, Jerusalem and Rome can we recover the intellectual and moral glue that binds a society together despite technological and cultural changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
The list also reaches into the everyday commerce that binds the two economies, including cheese, seafood and cosmetics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Nothing here binds a future administration, and courts almost never stop the government from disavowing promises its officials had no authority to make.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Isaac reviews the texts with care, letter by letter, while Jacob is fast and agile with his hands and binds the books with strength and ease.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
A pilot’s suspected attempt to crash a Boeing BA -0.79%decrease; down pointing triangle 737 MAX bound for Israel shows how one of aviation’s biggest safety threats is in the cockpit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
US authorities are searching for six people after a medical plane bound for Boston, Massachusetts went missing early Saturday morning.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
He added that the factions were not bound by any timetable or agreement mentioned by the government or other political parties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
I’m not advocating for speeding, but you’re not bound by the confines of traffic, where you have a stoplight at every block.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
Two Guardians stand guard near Dad, Zoe, and Uncle Ty, who are bound to chairs by ropes of light.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Tech bosses at a White House meeting this week signed a commitment to self-police AI, an accord Trump described as "morally binding."
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
At the end of the process, a binding result would be issued and made public.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
A majority of nations have called for ambitious, legally binding measures to curb production of plastic, which is expected to triple by 2060.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
City and the Premier League reached a settlement in September 2025, with the club accepting the APT rules are valid and binding and both parties agreeing to terminate legal proceedings.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Our quest is urgent,” said Adaon, who had finished binding Ellidyr’s wound and had come to stand near Gwystyl.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
