Dictionary
bind
Pronunciation: (bīnd), [key]
—v., bound, bind•ing,
—n.
—
v.t.
1. to fasten or secure with a band or bond.
2. to encircle with a band or ligature:
She bound her hair with a ribbon.
3. to swathe or bandage (often fol. by
up):
to bind up one's wounds.
4. to fasten around; fix in place by girding:
They bound his hands behind him.
5. to tie up (anything, as sheaves of grain).
6. to cause to cohere:
Ice bound the soil.
7. to unite by any legal or moral tie:
to be bound by a contract.
8. to hold to a particular state, place, employment, etc.:
Business kept him bound to the city.
9. to place under obligation or compulsion (usually used passively):
We are bound by good sense to obey the country's laws.
10. Law.to put under legal obligation, as to keep the peace or appear as a witness (often fol. by
over):
This action binds them to keep the peace. He was bound over to the grand jury.
11. to make compulsory or obligatory:
to bind the order with a deposit.
12. to fasten or secure within a cover, as a book:
They will bind the new book in leather.
13. to cover the edge of, as for protection or ornament:
to bind a carpet.
14. (of clothing) to chafe or restrict (the wearer):
This shirt binds me under the arms.
15. Med.to hinder or restrain (the bowels) from their natural operations; constipate.
16. to indenture as an apprentice (often fol. by
out):
In his youth his father bound him to a blacksmith.
—
v.i.
1. to become compact or solid; cohere.
2. to be obligatory:
an obligation that binds.
3. to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments:
This jacket binds through the shoulders.
4. to stick fast, as a drill in a hole.
5. Falconry.(of a hawk) to grapple or grasp prey firmly in flight.
6. bind off, Textiles.to loop (one stitch) over another in making an edge on knitted fabric.
—
n.
1. the act or process of binding; the state or instance of being bound.
2. something that binds.
3. Music.a tie, slur, or brace.
4. Falconry.the act of binding.
5. Informal.a difficult situation or predicament:
This schedule has us in a bind. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
