abound

[uh-bound]

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verb (used without object)

to occur or exist in great quantities or numbers: a stream in which trout abound.

to be rich or well supplied (usually followed by in): The region abounds in coal.

to be filled; teem (usually followed by with): The ship abounds with rats.

Origin of abound

1325–75; Middle English abounden < Latin abundāre to overflow, equivalent to ab- ab- + undāre to move in waves; see undulate

Related formsa·bound·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·a·bound, verb (used without object)well-a·bound·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for abounded

proliferate, flourish, thrive, teem, crowd, swell, flow, swarm, infest, overflow

Examples from the Web for abounded

Contemporary Examples of abounded

To his astonishment, the driver found the gate open; guards already had abounded the border post.
Iran Says It’s Under Attack by ISIS
Jassem Al Salami
October 9, 2014
Themes of armed resistance and solidarity between Africans and Indians abounded on the many costumes.
Mardi Gras Indian Chief Larry Bannock’s Final Ride
Jason Berry
May 16, 2014
This is a far cry from the 50s and 60s, when California abounded in new owner-occupied single family homes.
California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude
Joel Kotkin
October 5, 2013
Misconceptions and preconceived notions about Afghanistan abounded.
Khaled Hosseini: How I Write
Noah Charney
November 7, 2012
In nearby Mentor, Ohio, outside East Cleveland, broken children like Sladjana abounded.
Life and Death at Suicide High
Lucinda Franks
March 31, 2010

Historical Examples of abounded

Money, moreover, was thrown into it; gifts to the Blessed Virgin abounded.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The banners, in particular, abounded, as innumerable as the leaves of trees.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The Temple was chiefly remarkable for the dirt which abounded.
The Last Voyage
Lady (Annie Allnutt) Brassey
It would be difficult to tell which most abounded, holes or leather.
The Prison Chaplaincy, And Its Experiences
Hosea Quinby
My story has none of those stirring incidents with which his abounded.
Sir Jasper Carew
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for abounded

abound

verb (intr)

to exist or occur in abundance; be plentifula swamp in which snakes abound

(foll by with or in) to be plentifully supplied (with); teem (with)the gardens abound with flowers; the fields abound in corn

Word Origin for abound

C14: via Old French from Latin abundāre to overflow, from undāre to flow, from unda wave

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

Word Origin and History for abounded

abound

early 14c., from Old French abonder "to abound, be abundant, come together in great numbers" (12c.), from Latin abundare "overflow, run over," from Latin ab- "off" (see ab-) + undare "rise in a wave," from unda "water, wave" (see water (n.)). Related: Abounded; abounding.