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contain

[kuhn-teyn]
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verb (used with object)

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RELATED WORDS

incorporate, accommodate, involve, enclose, have, encompass, stop, collect, curb, cool, seat, subsume, embrace, embody, comprehend, hold, comprise, hog-tie, compose, smother

Nearby words

  1. contagious granular conjunctivitis,
  2. contagious magic,
  3. contagious stomatitis,
  4. contagiously,
  5. contagium,
  6. contained,
  7. container,
  8. container car,
  9. container garden,
  10. container ship

Origin of contain

1250–1300; Middle English conte(y)nen < Anglo-French contener, Old French contenir < Latin continēre, equivalent to con- con- + tenēre to hold (see tenet)
Related formscon·tain·a·ble, adjectivepre·con·tain, verb (used with object)un·con·tain·a·ble, adjective

Synonym study

1. Contain, accommodate, hold, express the idea that something is so designed that something else can exist or be placed within it. Contain refers to what is actually within a given container. Hold emphasizes the idea of keeping within bounds; it refers also to the greatest amount or number that can be kept within a given container. Accommodate means to contain comfortably or conveniently, or to meet the needs of a certain number. A passenger plane that accommodates 50 passengers may be able to hold 60, but at a given time may contain only 30.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for contain

British Dictionary definitions for contain

contain

verb (tr)

to hold or be capable of holding or including within a fixed limit or areathis contains five pints
to keep (one's feelings, behaviour, etc) within bounds; restrain
to consist of; comprisethe book contains three different sections
military to prevent (enemy forces) from operating beyond a certain level or area
maths
  1. to be a multiple of, leaving no remainder6 contains 2 and 3
  2. to have as a subset
Derived Formscontainable, adjective

Word Origin for contain

C13: from Old French contenir, from Latin continēre, from com- together + tenēre to hold
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 contain

contain

v.

late 13c., from Old French contein-, stem of contenir, from Latin continere (transitive) "to hold together, enclose," from com- "together" (see com-) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Related: Containable.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper