Bonds

US: /bɑndz/

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Bonds / bɒndz/ noun

1. Barry (Lamar). born 1964, US baseball player: holder of records for most home runs in a season (73) and a career (762)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bonds /bɑndz/  n. [plural]

1. chains or ropes used to tie up a prisoner.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bond¹ /bɑnd/   n. 

1. something that binds or holds together:
   [countable] This superglue creates a bond strong enough to hold five hundred pounds.
2. an agreement or feeling that unites one person to another, or to a way of behaving:
   [countable] a baby's bond to its mother; the bonds of marriage.
3. [countable* usually singular] firm assurance or promise:
   My word is my bond.
4. Business an agreement in which one guarantees to pay a sum of money on or before a specified day:
   [countable] bought war bonds to support the war effort.
5. money paid as a promise to appear in court;
   bail:
   [uncountable] He met bond and was released.
6. Chemistry the attraction between atoms in a molecule:
   [countable] a covalent bond.

v. 

7. to connect, or bind, or join (two materials): [no object]
   The two materials will bond if you heat them.
   [~ + object]
   Use this glue to bond the two materials.
8. Animal Behavior to establish a bond, as between a parent and offspring:
   [no object] Immediately after birth the baby and its mother bond.

bond•ing, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bond¹  (bond), n. 

1. something that binds, fastens, confines, or holds together.
2. a cord, rope, band, or ligament.
3. something that binds a person or persons to a certain circumstance or line of behavior:
   the bond of matrimony.
4. something, as an agreement or friendship, that unites individuals or peoples into a group;
   covenant:
   the bond between nations.
5. binding security;
   firm assurance:
   My word is my bond.
6. Business a sealed instrument under which a person, corporation, or government guarantees to pay a stated sum of money on or before a specified day.
7. any written obligation under seal.
8. [Law.] a written promise of a surety.
9. Government the state of dutiable goods stored without payment of duties or taxes until withdrawn:
   goods in bond.
10. Wine Also called bonded whiskey. a whiskey that has been aged at least four years in a bonded warehouse before bottling.
11. Business [Finance.] a certificate of ownership of a specified portion of a debt due to be paid by a government or corporation to an individual holder and usually bearing a fixed rate of interest.
12. Business [Insurance.]
    • a surety agreement.
    • Business the money deposited, or the promissory arrangement entered into, under any such agreement.
13. Building a substance that causes particles to adhere;
    binder.
14. Building adhesion between two substances or objects, as concrete and reinforcing strands.
15. Chemistry Also called chemical bond. the attraction between atoms in a molecule or crystalline structure. Cf. coordinate bond, covalent bond, electrovalent bond, hydrogen bond, metallic bond.
16. Printing See bond paper. 
17. Building [Masonry.]
    • any of various arrangements of bricks, stones, etc., having a regular pattern and intended to increase the strength or enhance the appearance of a construction.
    • the overlap of bricks, stones, etc., in a construction so as to increase its strength.
18. Electricity an electric conductor placed between adjacent metal parts within a structure, as in a railroad track, aircraft, or house, to prevent the accumulation of static electricity.
19. [Obs.] bondsman¹.

v.t. 

20. to put (goods, an employee, official, etc.) on or under bond:
    The company refused to bond a former criminal.
21. to connect or bind.
22. Business [Finance.] to place a bonded debt on or secure a debt by bonds;
    mortgage.
23. to join (two materials).
24. Building [Masonry.] to lay (bricks, stones, etc.) so as to produce a strong construction.
25. Electricity to provide with a bond:
    to bond a railroad track.
26. Psychology, Animal Behavior, Psychology to establish a close emotional relationship to or with (another):
    the special period when a mother bonds to her infant.

v.i. 

27. Building to hold together or cohere, from or as from being bonded, as bricks in a wall or particles in a mass.
28. Animal Behavior [Psychol., Animal Behav.] to establish a bonding.

• 1175–1225; Middle English (noun, nominal); variant of band³

bond′a•ble, adj. 
bond′a•bil′i•ty, n. 
bond′er, n. 
bond′less, adj. 
Synonyms

• 3. Bond, link, tie agree in referring to a force or influence that unites people.
  Bond, however, usually emphasizes the strong and enduring quality of affection, whereas tie may refer more esp. to duty, obligation, or responsibility:
  bonds of memory; Blessed be the tie that binds; family ties.
  A link is a definite connection, though a slighter one; it may indicate affection or merely some traceable influence or desultory communication:
  a close link between friends.

bond²  (bond), [Obs.]
n. 

1. a serf or slave.

adj. 

2. in serfdom or slavery.

• Old Norse bōndi husbandman, contraction of *bōande, variant of būande, cognate with Old English būend dweller, equivalent. to bū(an) to dwell (see boor) + -end noun, nominal suffix, as in fiend, friend
• Middle English bonde, Old English bonda bef. 1050

Bond  (bond), n. 

1. Biographical Carrie (nee Jacobs), 1862–1946, U.S. songwriter and author.
2. Biographical Julian, born 1940, U.S. civil-rights leader and politician.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bond / bɒnd/ noun

1. something that binds, fastens, or holds together, such as a chain or rope
2. (often plural) something that brings or holds people together; tie: a bond of friendship
3. (plural) something that restrains or imprisons; captivity or imprisonment
4. a written or spoken agreement, esp a promise
5. a certificate of debt issued in order to raise funds. It carries a fixed rate of interest and is repayable with or without security at a specified future date
6. a written acknowledgment of an obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract
7. any of various arrangements of bricks or stones in a wall in which they overlap so as to provide strength
8. See chemical bond
9. See bond paper
10. in bond ⇒ deposited in a bonded warehouse

verb (mainly tr)

1. (also intr) to hold or be held together, as by a rope or an adhesive; bind; connect
2. to put or hold (goods) in bond
3. to place under bond
4. to issue bonds on; mortgage

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old Norse band; see band²