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ironbound

American  
[ahy-ern-baund] / ˈaɪ ərnˈbaʊnd /

adjective

  1. bound with iron.

  2. rock-bound; rugged.

  3. hard; rigid; unyielding.


ironbound British  
/ ˈaɪənˌbaʊnd /

adjective

  1. bound with iron

  2. unyielding; inflexible

  3. (of a coast) rocky; rugged

"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

Etymology

Origin of ironbound

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at iron, -bound 1


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.

See Examples For:

Right now, he’s piloting “Man of La Mancha,” and he’s so excited that he brings a model of designer Allen Moyer’s dark, ironbound prison set and Ann Hould-Ward’s costume sketches to an interview.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 19, 2015

He described 19th-century “path-makers,” highbred gentlemen who spent summers armchair-engineering intricate paths around Mount Desert Island’s barren 1,500-foot peaks, glacial lakes and ironbound shoreline.

From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2014

A cartoon showed two armed guards toting a padlocked, ironbound chest into a house; the housewife was calling upstairs: "It's the men with your galoshes, dear!"

From Time Magazine Archive

Would the ironbound Nazi home front be betrayed and brought down in 1944 by a collapsing, demoralized Wehrmacht?

From Time Magazine Archive

In the heavy ironbound chest at the foot of Bran's bed the maester found smallclothes, breeches, and tunic.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin

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