contain

[ kuhn-teyn ]

/ kənˈteɪn /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: contain / contained / containing / contains on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to hold or include within its volume or area: This glass contains water. This paddock contains our best horses.

to be capable of holding; have capacity for: The room will contain 75 persons safely.

to have as contents or constituent parts; comprise; include.

to keep under proper control; restrain: He could not contain his amusement.

to prevent or limit the expansion, influence, success, or advance of (a hostile nation, competitor, opposing force, natural disaster, etc.): to contain an epidemic.

to succeed in preventing the spread of: efforts to contain water pollution.

Mathematics. (of a number) to be a multiple of; be divisible by, without a remainder: Ten contains five.

to be equal to: A quart contains two pints.

OTHER WORDS FOR contain

3 embody, embrace.

See synonyms for contain on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

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)

synonym study for contain

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM contain

con·tain·a·ble, adjectivepre·con·tain, verb (used with object)un·con·tain·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby contain

contagious ecthyma, contagious granular conjunctivitis, contagious magic, contagious stomatitis, contagium, contain, contained, container, containerboard, container car, container cargo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use contain in a sentence

There was no right way to bite into a rice cake and definitely no good way to contain the stream of crumbs that rained down from the corners of my mouth.
The Rise and Fall of the Rice Cake, America’s One-Time Favorite Health Snack|Brenna Houck|September 17, 2020|Eater
Probably the most explosive centered on the effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic this year.
William Barr is the poster child for politicized law enforcement officials|Philip Bump|September 17, 2020|Washington Post
It contains a 7-megapixel camera on the front and a 12-megapixel camera on the back and is capable of taking 4K videos, which are better quality than high-definition.
Apple debuts its new iPad and iPad Air during its ‘Time Flies’ event|jonathanvanian2015|September 15, 2020|Fortune
Holm and Rotenberg were surprised to find that their paper contained the insight needed to do a lot better.
A New Algorithm for Graph Crossings, Hiding in Plain Sight|Stephanie DeMarco|September 15, 2020|Quanta Magazine

Next year the company plans to put out a quantum processor, called “eagle,” that contains 127 qubits.
IBM plans a huge leap in superfast quantum computing by 2023|rhhackettfortune|September 15, 2020|Fortune
The sequels will contain anything from the Expanded Universe.
Juiciest ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rumors (and Some Debunked Ones)|Rich Goldstein|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Canned drinks like Mercy contain up 5,000 percent of the daily value of certain vitamins.
History's Craziest Hangover Cures|Justin Jones|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They sacrifice their shelter to contain the walkers—and Judith gets her first action scene!
The Walking Dead’s Midseason Finale Shocker: A Cherished Character Meets a Grisly End|Melissa Leon|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Green plants in pre-flowering stages may contain significant protein but not fat.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And while the stories may contain caveats, the initial headlines certainly did not.
Digital Doublethink: Playing Truth or Dare with Putin, Assad and ISIS|Christopher Dickey, Anna Nemtsova|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Selections for practice should be chosen which contain much variety of thought and feeling and are smooth in movement.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Since this is a law of vibration, it is unscientific to speak of giving an overtone, for all tones contain overtones.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The apocryphal gospels contain many, and some are preserved by Persian and Arabian poets.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
These globular masses usually contain many tubercle bacilli.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
(a) Epithelial casts contain epithelial cells from the renal tubules.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for contain

contain

/ (kənˈteɪn) /

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

to be a multiple of, leaving no remainder6 contains 2 and 3
to have as a subset

Derived forms of contain

containable, 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

contain

OTHER WORDS FOR contain

Origin of contain

synonym study for contain

OTHER WORDS FROM contain

Words nearby contain

Words related to contain

How to use contain in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for contain

Derived forms of contain

Word Origin for contain