contain
to hold or include within its volume or area: This glass contains water.This paddock contains our best horses.
to be capable of holding; have capacity for: The room will contain 75 persons safely.
to have as contents or constituent parts; comprise; include.
to keep under proper control; restrain: He could not contain his amusement.
to prevent or limit the expansion, influence, success, or advance of (a hostile nation, competitor, opposing force, natural disaster, etc.): to contain an epidemic.
to succeed in preventing the spread of: efforts to contain water pollution.
Mathematics. (of a number) to be a multiple of; be divisible by, without a remainder: Ten contains five.
to be equal to: A quart contains two pints.
Origin of contain
1synonym study For contain
Other words for contain
Other words from contain
- con·tain·a·ble, adjective
- pre·con·tain, verb (used with object)
- un·con·tain·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use contain in a sentence
Methane (chemical formula CH4) is one of the simplest hydrocarbons, which literally means “containing hydrogen and carbon.”
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen containing a proton and neutron in its nucleus, while normal hydrogen has only a proton.
I get the bottle while he opens a desk drawer containing two glasses.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou can find fourteen of these copper creations, all initially containing 3,900 liters of liquid apiece, on the Macallan estate.
When It Comes to Great Whisky, The Size of Your Still Matters | | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe delegates were given envelopes containing $40,000 during a meeting about grassroots soccer initiatives.
Caseous particles containing immense numbers of the bacilli are common.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddFor comparison, the gas may be passed through a test-tube containing an equal amount of distilled water.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddFor aught we know, there may be millions of systems, each containing millions of solar systems.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordCabs containing couples rolled by, disappeared towards north and south, disappeared into the darkness.
Bella Donna | Robert HichensThe cell containing them may stain normally in other respects, or it may exhibit polychromatophilia.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
British Dictionary definitions for contain
/ (kənˈteɪn) /
to hold or be capable of holding or including within a fixed limit or area: this contains five pints
to keep (one's feelings, behaviour, etc) within bounds; restrain
to consist of; comprise: the book contains three different sections
military to prevent (enemy forces) from operating beyond a certain level or area
maths
to be a multiple of, leaving no remainder: 6 contains 2 and 3
to have as a subset
Origin of contain
1Derived forms of contain
- containable, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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