contain
Americanverb (used with object)
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to hold or include within its volume or area.
This glass contains water.
This paddock contains our best horses.
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to be capable of holding; have capacity for.
The room will contain 75 persons safely.
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to have as contents content or constituent parts; comprise; include.
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to keep under proper control; restrain.
He could not contain his amusement.
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to prevent or limit the expansion, influence, success, or advance of (a hostile nation, competitor, opposing force, natural disaster, etc.).
to contain an epidemic.
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to succeed in preventing the spread of.
efforts to contain water pollution.
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Mathematics. (of a number) to be a multiple of; be divisible by, without a remainder.
Ten contains five.
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to be equal to.
A quart contains two pints.
verb
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to hold or be capable of holding or including within a fixed limit or area
this contains five pints
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to keep (one's feelings, behaviour, etc) within bounds; restrain
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to consist of; comprise
the book contains three different sections
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military to prevent (enemy forces) from operating beyond a certain level or area
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maths
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to be a multiple of, leaving no remainder
6 contains 2 and 3
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to have as a subset
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Related Words
Contain, accommodate, hold, express the idea that something is so designed that something else can exist or be placed within it. Contain refers to what is actually within a given container. Hold emphasizes the idea of keeping within bounds; it refers also to the greatest amount or number that can be kept within a given container. Accommodate means to contain comfortably or conveniently, or to meet the needs of a certain number. A passenger plane that accommodates 50 passengers may be able to hold 60, but at a given time may contain only 30.
Other Word Forms
- containable adjective
- precontain verb (used with object)
- uncontainable adjective
Etymology
Origin of contain
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conte(y)nen, from Anglo-French contener, Old French contenir, from Latin continēre, equivalent to con- con- + -tinēre, verb suffix of tenēre “to hold” ( tenet )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, many of the fruit species they regularly eat contain measurable ethanol, indicating that alcohol is a routine part of their menu and was probably present in the diets of our human ancestors as well.
From Science Daily
European plane-maker Airbus said Monday it had detected a "quality issue" affecting metal panels on its popular A320 passenger jet but the problem was "contained".
From Barron's
Chancellor Rachel Reeves's Budget was thrown into chaos when the OBR's forecast - which contained the measures she was about to announce - was discovered online.
From BBC
SolGold’s core asset, the Cascabel project in Ecuador, has a primary deposit containing copper, gold, and silver.
"I think with the cold weather here at the moment and there being few midges around, we hope there isn't much spread and that it can be contained," he said.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
