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definitions

bounded

[boun-did]
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adjective

having bounds or limits.
Mathematics.
  1. (of a function) having a range with an upper bound and a lower bound.
  2. (of a sequence) having the absolute value of each term less than or equal to some specified positive number.
  3. (of the variation of a function) having the variation less than a positive number.

Origin of bounded

First recorded in 1590–1600; bound3 + -ed2
Related formsbound·ed·ly, adverbbound·ed·ness, noun

bound

1
[bound]

verb

simple past tense and past participle of bind.

adjective

tied; in bonds: a bound prisoner.
made fast as if by a band or bond: She is bound to her family.
secured within a cover, as a book.
under a legal or moral obligation: He is bound by the terms of the contract.
destined; sure; certain: It is bound to happen.
determined or resolved: He is bound to go.
Pathology. constipated.
Mathematics. (of a vector) having a specified initial point as well as magnitude and direction.Compare free(def 32).
held with another element, substance, or material in chemical or physical union.
(of a linguistic form) occurring only in combination with other forms, as most affixes.Compare free(def 35).

Origin of bound

1
past participle and past tense of bind
Related formsbound·ness, noun

Synonyms for bound

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5. liable, obligated, obliged, compelled.

bound

2
[bound]

verb (used without object)

to move by leaps; leap; jump; spring: The colt bounded through the meadow.
to rebound, as a ball; bounce: The ball bounded against the wall.

noun

a leap onward or upward; jump.
a rebound; bounce.

Origin of bound

2
1545–55; < Middle French bond a leap, bondir to leap, orig. resound ≪ Vulgar Latin *bombitīre for *bombitāre to buzz, whiz (Latin bomb(us) (see bomb) + -it- intensive suffix + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix)
Related formsbound·ing·ly, adverb
Can be confusedbind bound

Synonyms for bound

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1. See skip1.

bound

3
[bound]

noun

Usually bounds. limit or boundary: the bounds of space and time; within the bounds of his estate; within the bounds of reason.
something that limits, confines, or restrains.
bounds,
  1. territories on or near a boundary.
  2. land within boundary lines.
Mathematics. a number greater than or equal to, or less than or equal to, all the numbers in a given set.Compare greatest lower bound, least upper bound, lower bound, upper bound.

verb (used with object)

to limit by or as if by bounds; keep within limits or confines.
to form the boundary or limit of.
to name or list the boundary of.

verb (used without object)

to abut.

Origin of bound

3
1175–1225; Middle English bounde < Anglo-French; Old French bone, bonde, variant of bodne < Medieval Latin budina, of uncertain origin; cf. bourn2
Related formsbound·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms for bound

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1. border, frontier, confine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bounded

surrounded, belted, restricted, fringed, enclosed, walled, defined, girdled, flanked, rimmed, encircled, delimited, encompassed, ringed, contiguous, definite, finite, determinate, limitary

Examples from the Web for bounded

Contemporary Examples of bounded

Historical Examples of bounded

  • Terlake fell short, crashed in among the oars, and bounded off into the sea.

    The White Company

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • She bounded about in the sun and chased the blue and yellow butterflies.

    The Trail Book

    Mary Austin

  • He tried to climb a cliff that of old he had often bounded up at full speed.

    The Biography of a Grizzly

    Ernest Seton-Thompson

  • I was gazing idly at the footpath opposite, which is bounded by the Luxembourg railings.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • He bounded away, but his pet hounds sprang at him and caught him.

    Classic Myths

    Mary Catherine Judd

British Dictionary definitions for bounded

bounded

adjective maths

(of a set) having a bound, esp where a measure is defined in terms of which all the elements of the set, or the differences between all pairs of members, are less than some value, or else all its members lie within some other well-defined set
(of an operator, function, etc) having a bounded set of values

bound

1

verb

the past tense and past participle of bind

adjective

in bonds or chains; tied with or as if with a ropea bound prisoner
(in combination) restricted; confinedhousebound; fogbound
(postpositive , foll by an infinitive) destined; sure; certainit's bound to happen
(postpositive, often foll by by) compelled or obliged to act, behave, or think in a particular way, as by duty, circumstance, or convention
(of a book) secured within a cover or bindingto deliver bound books See also half-bound
(postpositive, foll by on) US resolved; determinedbound on winning
linguistics
  1. denoting a morpheme, such as the prefix non-, that occurs only as part of another word and not as a separate word in itselfCompare free (def. 21)
  2. (in systemic grammar) denoting a clause that has a nonfinite predicator or that is introduced by a binder, and that occurs only together with a freestanding clauseCompare freestanding
logic (of a variable) occurring within the scope of a quantifier that indicates the degree of generality of the open sentence in which the variable occurs: in (x) (Fx → bxy), x is bound and y is freeSee free (def. 22)
bound up with closely or inextricably linked withhis irritability is bound up with his work
I'll be bound I am sure (something) is true

bound

2

verb

to move forwards or make (one's way) by leaps or jumps
to bounce; spring away from an impact

noun

a jump upwards or forwards
by leaps and bounds with unexpectedly rapid progessher condition improved by leaps and bounds
a sudden pronounced sense of excitementhis heart gave a sudden bound when he saw her
a bounce, as of a ball

Word Origin for bound

C16: from Old French bond a leap, from bondir to jump, resound, from Vulgar Latin bombitīre (unattested) to buzz, hum, from Latin bombus booming sound

bound

3

verb

(tr) to place restrictions on; limit
(when intr, foll by on) to form a boundary of (an area of land or sea, political or administrative region, etc)

noun

maths
  1. a number which is greater than all the members of a set of numbers (an upper bound), or less than all its members (a lower bound)See also bounded (def. 1)
  2. more generally, an element of an ordered set that has the same ordering relation to all the members of a given subset
  3. whence, an estimate of the extent of some set
See bounds

Word Origin for bound

C13: from Old French bonde, from Medieval Latin bodina, of Gaulish origin

bound

4

adjective

  1. (postpositive, often foll by for)going or intending to go towards; on the way toa ship bound for Jamaica; homeward bound
  2. (in combination)northbound traffic

Word Origin for bound

C13: from Old Norse buinn, past participle of būa to prepare
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 bounded

bound

v.2

"to leap," 1580s, from French bondir "to rebound, resound, echo," from Old French bondir "to leap, rebound; make a noise, beat (a drum)," 13c., ultimately "to echo back," from Vulgar Latin *bombitire "to buzz, hum" (see bomb (n.)), perhaps on model of Old French tentir, from Vulgar Latin *tinnitire.

bound

adj.1

"fastened," mid-14c., in figurative sense of "compelled," from bounden, past participle of bind (v.). Meaning "under obligation" is from late 15c.; the literal sense "made fast by tying" is the latest recorded (1550s).

bound

adj.2

"ready to go," c.1200, boun, from Old Norse buinn past participle of bua "to prepare," also "to dwell, to live," from Proto-Germanic *bowan (cf. Old High German buan "to dwell," Old Danish both "dwelling, stall"), from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, dwell" (see be). Final -d is presumably through association with bound (adj.1).

bound

n.

"limit," c.1200, from Anglo-Latin bunda, from Old French bonde "limit, boundary, boundary stone" (12c., Modern French borne), variant of bodne, from Medieval Latin bodina, perhaps from Gaulish. Now chiefly in out of bounds, which originally referred to limits imposed on students at schools.

bound

v.1

"to form the boundary of," also "to set the boundaries of," late 14c., from bound (n.). Related: Bounded; bounding.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with bounded

bound

In addition to the idioms beginning with bound

  • bound and determined to
  • bound for
  • bound hand and foot
  • bound to, be
  • bound up in

also see:

  • by leaps and bounds
  • duty bound
  • honor bound
  • out of bounds
  • within bounds

Also see underbind.

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