band
1[ band ]
/ bænd /
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noun
a company of persons or, sometimes, animals or things, joined, acting, or functioning together; aggregation; party; troop: a band of protesters.
Music.
- a group of instrumentalists playing music of a specialized type: rock band; calypso band; mariachi band.
- a musical group, usually employing brass, percussion, and often woodwind instruments, that plays especially for marching or open-air performances.
- big band.
- 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.
OTHER WORDS FOR band
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Idioms about band
to beat the band, Informal. energetically; abundantly: It rained all day to beat the band.
Origin of band
1synonym study for band
1. See company.
Other definitions 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
2First 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, adjectiveOther definitions 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
3First 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. 2023
How to use band in a sentence
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
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)
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
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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.
Other 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.