bind

UK: /ˈbaɪnd/ US: /baɪnd/ ,(bīnd)

Inflections of 'bind' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

binds

v 3rd person singular

binding

v pres p

bound

v past

bound

v past p

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

bind /baɪnd/   v., bound/baʊnd/  bind•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to fasten or tie (something) with a string, rope, etc.:
   [~ + object] She bound her hair with a ribbon.
2. to bandage: [~ + object (+ up)]
   to bind one's wounds (up).
   [~ + (+ up) + object]
   to bind (up) his wounds.
3. [~ + object] to cause to cohere:
   Ice bound the soil.
4. [~ + object] to unite or join by any tie:
   to be bound by a contract.
5. to place under obligation:
   [~ + object* usually: be + bound + to] She was bound to secrecy by the oath she took.
6. Printing [~]  + [object] to fasten or secure (sheets of paper) within a cover:
   to bind a book in leather.

n. [countable* usually singular]

7. a difficult situation or predicament:
   This tight schedule has us in a bind.

bind•a•ble, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bind  (bīnd), 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. Printing 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. Medicine 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. 

17. to become compact or solid;
    cohere.
18. to be obligatory:
    an obligation that binds.
19. to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments:
    This jacket binds through the shoulders.
20. to stick fast, as a drill in a hole.
21. Sport [Falconry.] (of a hawk) to grapple or grasp prey firmly in flight.
22. Textiles bind off, to loop (one stitch) over another in making an edge on knitted fabric.

n. 

23. the act or process of binding;
    the state or instance of being bound.
24. something that binds.
25. Music and Dance a tie, slur, or brace.
26. Sport [Falconry.] the act of binding.
27. [Informal.] a difficult situation or predicament:
    This schedule has us in a bind.

• bef. 1000; Middle English binden (verb, verbal), Old English bindan; cognate with Old High German bintan, Old Norse binda, Gothic bindan, Sanskrit bandhati (he) binds

bind′a•ble, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. gird, attach, tie.
• 2. confine, restrain.
• 9. engage, oblige, obligate.

Antonyms

• 1. untie.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

bind / baɪnd/ verb (binds, binding, bound)

1. to make or become fast or secure with or as if with a tie or band
2. (transitive) often followed by up: to encircle or enclose with a band: to bind the hair
3. (transitive) to place (someone) under obligation; oblige
4. (transitive) to impose legal obligations or duties upon (a person or party to an agreement)
5. (transitive) to make (a bargain, agreement, etc) irrevocable; seal
6. (transitive) to restrain or confine with or as if with ties, as of responsibility or loyalty
7. (transitive) to place under certain constraints; govern
8. (transitive) often followed by up: to bandage or swathe
9. to cohere or stick or cause to cohere or stick: egg binds fat and flour
10. to make or become compact, stiff, or hard: frost binds the earth
11. (transitive) to enclose and fasten (the pages of a book) between covers
12. (transitive) to provide (a garment, hem, etc) with a border or edging, as for decoration or to prevent fraying
13. (tr; sometimes followed by out or over) to employ as an apprentice; indenture
14. (intransitive) to complain
15. (transitive) to bring (a variable) into the scope of an appropriate quantifier
    See also bound19

noun

1. something that binds
2. a difficult or annoying situation
3. another word for bine
4. another word for tie17

Etymology: Old English bindan; related to Old Norse binda, Old High German bintan, Latin offendix band², Sanskrit badhnāti he binds