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• pair bond
  pair bond

  noun

  a partnership between a mating couple that lasts through one season, serving primarily in the cooperative rearing of young.
• pair-bond
  pair-bond

  verb (used without object)

  (of a mating couple) to form and maintain a pair bond.

pair bond

¹ American  

noun

Animal Behavior.

1. a partnership between a mating couple that lasts through one season, serving primarily in the cooperative rearing of young.

2. the couple that forms such a partnership.

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pair-bond ² American  

[pair-bond] / ˈpɛərˌbɒnd /

verb (used without object)

1. (of a mating couple) to form and maintain a pair bond.

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noun

1. pair bond.

pair bond British  

noun

1. the exclusive relationship formed between a male and a female, esp in some species of animals and birds during courtship and breeding

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Other Word Forms

• pair bonding
  noun

Etymology

Origin of pair bond¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Origin of pair-bond²

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pair bond pair-bond

Despite their very different upbringings and destinies, the pair bond through their desert adventures, like taking out Spice harvesters together.

From Salon ● Mar. 9, 2024

To which Levi responds: “What about prairie voles? They pair bond for life.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2022

“There’s something about forming a pair bond that changes these male prairie voles’ ability to recognize others.

From National Geographic ● Sep. 3, 2015

He notes that in the monogamous prairie voles he studies, males that have a pair bond can actually be hostile to other females.

From Time ● Nov. 27, 2013

The pair bond was the pivotal event that opened the way to hominid evolution, in Dr. Chapais’s view.

From New York Times ● Mar. 14, 2011

Romantic love is a complex emotion thought to have ancient roots in human evolution, and associated with the need to pair-bond in stable relationships.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2020

However, each ritualized display seemingly strengthens the pair-bond.

From Natural History of the Bell Vireo, Vireo bellii Audubon by Jon C. Barlow

This, in combination with perpetual song as he works, serves to strengthen the pair-bond and stimulate nestbuilding tendencies of the female.

From Natural History of the Bell Vireo, Vireo bellii Audubon by Jon C. Barlow

A. m. maritima is monogamous, the pair-bond being maintained throughout a breeding cycle.

From Comparative Breeding Behavior of Ammospiza caudacuta and A. maritima by Glen E. Woolfenden