contain
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.
Origin of contain
1synonym study For contain
Other words for contain
Other words from contain
- con·tain·a·ble, adjective
- pre·con·tain, verb (used with object)
- un·con·tain·a·ble, adjective
Words Nearby contain
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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 | EaterProbably 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 PostIt 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 | FortuneHolm 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 MagazineNext 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 | THE DAILY BEASTCanned drinks like Mercy contain up 5,000 percent of the daily value of certain vitamins.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTGreen plants in pre-flowering stages may contain significant protein but not fat.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTSelections for practice should be chosen which contain much variety of thought and feeling and are smooth in movement.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickSince 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 SouthwickThe apocryphal gospels contain many, and some are preserved by Persian and Arabian poets.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature | Moncure Daniel ConwayThese 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
/ (kənˈteɪn) /
to hold or be capable of holding or including within a fixed limit or area: this contains five pints
to keep (one's feelings, behaviour, etc) within bounds; restrain
to consist of; comprise: the 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 remainder: 6 contains 2 and 3
to have as a subset
Origin of contain
1Derived forms of contain
- containable, adjective
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
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