bounds

British

/ baʊndz /

plural noun

(sometimes singular) a limit; boundary (esp in the phrase know no bounds )
something that restrains or confines, esp the standards of a society

within the bounds of modesty
See beat

"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

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.

Appeared in the October 7, 2025, print edition as 'The Ryder Cup Rowdiness Was Out of Bounds'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025

His cousin, Christina Bounds, told the BBC that his family "begged" him not to go into New Orleans, fearful of the large crowd and potential dangers.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2025

Leaps and Bounds did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2024

“It’s not going to help me - I’m through mining,” said Bounds, 75, who now uses supplemental oxygen to breathe.

From Washington Times • Jul. 24, 2023

Bounds had been set to this unhallowed purgatory.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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