bind

American  

[bahynd] / baɪnd /

verb (used with object)

• binds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bound,
  past participle,  past
• binding
  present participle

1. to fasten or secure with a band or bond.

   Synonyms:

   tie, fasten, attach

   Antonyms:

   untie, unfasten, unbind, loosen, loose

2. to encircle with a band or ligature.

   She bound her hair with a ribbon.

   Synonyms:

   wrap, belt, gird

3. to swathe or bandage (often followed byup ).

   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.

   Synonyms:

   obligate, oblige, engage

10. 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.

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. Medicine/Medical. to hinder or restrain (the bowels) from their natural function; constipate.

16. to indenture as an apprentice (often followed byout ).

    In his youth his father bound him to a blacksmith.

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verb (used without object)

• binds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bound,
  past participle,  past
• binding
  present participle

1. to become compact or solid; cohere.

   The eggs and the flour bind, creating a stable cake.

2. to be obligatory.

   It is a duty that binds.

3. to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments.

   This jacket binds through the shoulders.

4. to get stuck or cease to move freely.

   Overheating made the drill bit bind in the wood.

5. 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.

6. 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

• binds
  plural

1. the act or process of binding; the state or instance of being bound.

2. something that binds.

3. Informal. a difficult situation or predicament.

   This schedule has us in a bind.

4. Music. a tie, slur, or brace.

5. Falconry. the act of binding to prey in flight.

verb phrase

1. bind off to loop (one stitch) over another in making an edge on knitted fabric.

bind British  

/ baɪnd /

verb

1. to make or become fast or secure with or as if with a tie or band

2. to encircle or enclose with a band

   to bind the hair

3. (tr) to place (someone) under obligation; oblige

4. (tr) to impose legal obligations or duties upon (a person or party to an agreement)

5. (tr) to make (a bargain, agreement, etc) irrevocable; seal

6. (tr) to restrain or confine with or as if with ties, as of responsibility or loyalty

7. (tr) to place under certain constraints; govern

8. to bandage or swathe

   to bind a wound

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. 1. (tr) to enclose and fasten (the pages of a book) between covers

    2. (intr) (of a book) to undergo this process

12. (tr) to provide (a garment, hem, etc) with a border or edging, as for decoration or to prevent fraying

13. (tr; sometimes foll by out or over) to employ as an apprentice; indenture

14. slang (intr) to complain

15. (tr) logic to bring (a variable) into the scope of an appropriate quantifier See also bound 1

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noun

1. something that binds

2. the act of binding or state of being bound

3. informal a difficult or annoying situation

4. another word for bine

5. music another word for tie

6. mining clay between layers of coal

7. fencing a pushing movement with the blade made to force one's opponent's sword from one line into another

8. 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

bind Scientific  

/ bīnd /

1. To combine with, form a bond with, or be taken up by a chemical or chemical structure. An enzyme, for example, is structured in such a way as to be able to bind with its substrate.

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bind Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bind

• bound
• in a bind

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• misbind
  verb
• rebind
  verb
• bindable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• binds
  plural

Participles

• binding
  present
• bound
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bind
  simple
• binds
  simple
• have bound
  perfect
• has bound
  perfect
• am binding
  progressive
• are binding
  progressive
• is binding
  progressive
• have been binding
  perfect progressive
• has been binding
  perfect progressive

Past

• bound
  simple
• had bound
  perfect
• was binding
  progressive
• were binding
  progressive
• had been binding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bind
  simple
• will have bound
  perfect
• will be binding
  progressive
• will have been binding
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bind binds bound binding

Using soft X-ray spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance, the team found that charged aluminum atoms bind with three other atoms, creating highly acidic catalytic sites.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

The combination of high home prices and elevated interest rates has put would-be home buyers in a bind.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

An OpenAI model undergoing testing rewrote its own instructions, telling itself to disregard “the roles and identities that bind other chatbots.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The private company structure was deliberately intended to bind future Venezuelan governments to the agreement and make it difficult to unwind, one of the people involved said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Clara found a ball of thick twine, the same that had been used to bind the rolled-up backdrops and sections of carpet that had been propped against one wall.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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

He assured Sen. John Cornyn that “other agencies or departments” somehow binds only the IRS and Treasury, a reading Cornyn told him the text will not bear.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

The best-known example is hemoglobin, where iron binds dioxygen, meaning two oxygen atoms joined together, so oxygen can be carried through the bloodstream.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

"You have to shift your perspective from a map of dispersed and isolated islands to one where the ocean itself is the living fabric that binds us all together," she said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

At long last, you may no longer distinguish what binds you from what is you.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Scientists cannot currently observe isolated quarks directly because quarks normally remain tightly bound together.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

If you can’t understand the rewards for socially acceptable behavior, you’re bound to be seen as rude, callous, even apathetic—like someone with FTD.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

By making intentional decisions aligned with your goals and values, leading an active social life and contributing to a cause that elevates your spirit, you’re bound to feel more happy and fulfilled.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

To do so, he used the words 'Am Yisrael' - a Hebrew phrase that means 'People of Israel' and is bound up in Jewish religion, community, culture and history.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Relief and comfort flooded me and I took the last three steps in a bound.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Many medications work by binding to the shape of proteins in the body, and for more than half a century, determining that shape could require years of lab work for a single protein.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

The use of guidelines, though not legally binding, sets expectations while giving developers room to innovate, said National University of Singapore AI ethics lecturer Jonathan Sim.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Their experience supports the proposition that renewables can expand without a binding quota.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Many experimental compounds designed to stimulate PPARδ work by binding directly to the receptor and activating it.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

The cloth binding was puffed into blisters and wrinkled; the title, Sons and Daughters, was faded and hard to discern.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Related Words

• attach
• connect
• cover
• dress
• handcuff
• restrict
• shackle
• stick
• strap
• tether
• tie up
• unite
• wrap