bound up in

Idioms

Also, bound up with. Deeply or inextricably involved in. For example, Obviously the candidate was bound up with the negotiations on the party platform, or She is bound up in her church activities. This usage appears in the Bible (Genesis 44:30): “His life is bound up in the lad's life.” [Late 1500s]

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.

Halloween, for all its associations with extremes of terror, is also bound up in the cozy innocence of childhood memories, and to my mind, few movies fit that duality better than “The Fog.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

The 19th century gets bound up in the idea of progress, and increasingly that comes to mean technological progress.

From Slate • Sep. 8, 2025

It’s hard to imagine her, or other comparable pop acts, taking a similar stand today, especially as the major labels’ fortunes are so bound up in Spotify revenues.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 31, 2025

There are no other firms left bidding for the contract, but the deal is all now bound up in the government's review of defence spending, and procurement.

From BBC • Jul. 18, 2025

“The Danvers found over a dozen sheep dead and bound up in fence wire.”

From "Worth" by A. LaFaye

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023