in a bind

1. Also,. In a difficult, threatening, or embarrassing position; also, unable to solve a dilemma. For example, He's put us in a bind: we can't refuse, but at the same time we can't fill the order, or Jim's in a box; he can't afford to pay what he owes us, or He quit without giving notice and now we're really in a hole, or We always end up in a jam during the holiday season, or He's in a tight corner with those new customers, or We'll be in a tight spot unless we can find another thousand dollars. All these colloquial terms allude to places from which one can't easily extricate oneself. The phrase using bind was first recorded in 1851; box, 1865; jam, 1914; tight spot, 1852. Also see in a fix.

Example Sentences

This all leaves the Federal Reserve in a bind.

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The bond vigilantes —to borrow a term economist Ed Yardeni used to describe the activist fixed-income investors who tried to rein in inflation in the 1980s—have European governments in a bind already.

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The bond vigilantes —to borrow a term economist Ed Yardeni used to describe the activist fixed-income investors who tried to rein in inflation in the 1980s—have European governments in a bind already.

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Some leaders are now in a bind as they try to maintain cooperation with Washington while dealing with domestic outrage over America’s moves.

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Still, farmers and industry analysts caution that tensions between China and the U.S. could deteriorate, putting soybean growers back in a bind.

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Related Words

• belated 
• delayed 
• delinquent 
• overdue 
• sluggish