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band

1
[ band ]
/ bænd /
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See synonyms for: band / banded on Thesaurus.com

noun

a company of persons or, sometimes, animals or things, joined, acting, or functioning together;aggregation; party; troop: a band of protesters.
Music.
  1. a group of instrumentalists playing music of a specialized type: rock band; calypso band; mariachi band.
  2. a musical group, usually employing brass, percussion, and often woodwind instruments, that plays especially for marching or open-air performances.
  3. big band.
  4. dance band.
a division of a nomadic tribe; a group of individuals who move and camp together and subsist by hunting and gathering.
a group of persons living outside the law: a renegade band.

verb (used with object)

to unite in a troop, company, or confederacy.

verb (used without object)

to unite; confederate (often followed by together): They banded together to oust the chairman.

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Idioms for band

    to beat the band, Informal. energetically; abundantly: It rained all day to beat the band.

Origin of band

1
First recorded in 1480–90; from Middle French bande, from Italian banda; cognate with Medieval Latin banda (plural of bandum) “(military) standard,” equivalent to Latin signum, from Germanic; akin to Gothic bandwa “(military) standard, sign, token”; see band2, band3, bend1, bond1

synonym study for band

1. See company.

Words nearby band

bancassurance, bancassurer, banco, Bancroft, Bancroft Prize, band, banda, Banda Aceh, bandage, Band-Aid, bandanna

Definition for band (2 of 3)

band2
[ band ]
/ bænd /

noun

verb (used with object)

to mark, decorate, or furnish with a band or bands.

Origin of band

2
First recorded in 1480–90; mostly and earlier from Middle English bende, biende “fetter, shackle, ornamental ribbon, sash,” Old English bend “band, ribbon, bond, fetter, chaplet,” partly and later from Old French bande, bende, from Germanic; compare Old High German binta “fillet”; see bind, band1, band3, bend1, bond1

OTHER WORDS FROM band

bander, nounbandless, adjective

Definition for band (3 of 3)

band3
[ band ]
/ bænd /

noun Archaic.

Usually bands. articles for binding the person or the limbs; shackles; manacles; fetters.
an obligation; bond: the nuptial bands.

Origin of band

3
First recorded in 1100–50; Middle English bend, bende, late Old English bend “something that ties, binds, or bends,” from Old Norse band “act of binding; cord, band, fetter; confederacy, bond”; cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian band, Old High German bant; akin to Sanskrit bandhati “(he) binds, ties, fetters”; see band1, band2, bond1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to band

line, tape, ring, gathering, corps, club, company, troop, collection, crew, gang, party, troupe, bunch, symphony, orchestra, ensemble, chain, hoop, binding

Example sentences from the Web for band

British Dictionary definitions for band (1 of 3)

band1
/ (bænd) /

noun

verb

(usually foll by together) to unite; assemble

Word Origin for band

C15: from French bande probably from Old Provençal banda of Germanic origin; compare Gothic bandwa sign, banner

British Dictionary definitions for band (2 of 3)

band2
/ (bænd) /

noun

verb (tr)

to fasten or mark with a band
US and Canadian to ring (a bird)See ring 1 (def. 22)

Word Origin for band

C15: from Old French bende, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German binda fillet; see band ³

British Dictionary definitions for band (3 of 3)

band3
/ (bænd) /

noun

an archaic word for bond (def. 1), bond (def. 3), bond (def. 4)

Word Origin for band

C13: from Old Norse band; related to Old High German bant fetter; see bend 1, bond
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

Medical definitions for band

band
[ bănd ]

n.

An appliance or a part of an apparatus that encircles or binds a part of the body.
A cordlike tissue that connects or that holds bodily structures together.
A chromatically, structurally, or functionally differentiated strip or stripe in or on an organism.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for band

band
[ bănd ]

A specific range of electromagnetic wavelengths or frequencies, as those used in radio broadcasting.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with band

band

see on the bandwagon; to beat the band.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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