contain
Americanverb (used with object)
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contains,
present (3rd person singular)
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contained,
past participle, past
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containing
present participle
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to hold or include within its volume or area.
This glass contains water.
This paddock contains our best horses.
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to be capable of holding; have capacity for.
The room will contain 75 persons safely.
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to have as contents or constituent parts; comprise; include.
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to keep under proper control; restrain.
He could not contain his amusement.
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to prevent or limit the expansion, influence, success, or advance of (a hostile nation, competitor, opposing force, natural disaster, etc.).
to contain an epidemic.
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to succeed in preventing the spread of.
efforts to contain water pollution.
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Mathematics. (of a number) to be a multiple of; be divisible by, without a remainder.
Ten contains five.
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to be equal to.
A quart contains two pints.
verb
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to hold or be capable of holding or including within a fixed limit or area
this contains five pints
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to keep (one's feelings, behaviour, etc) within bounds; restrain
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to consist of; comprise
the book contains three different sections
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military to prevent (enemy forces) from operating beyond a certain level or area
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maths
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to be a multiple of, leaving no remainder
6 contains 2 and 3
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to have as a subset
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Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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containsimple
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containssimple
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have containedperfect
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has containedperfect
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am containingprogressive
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are containingprogressive
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is containingprogressive
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have been containingperfect progressive
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has been containingperfect progressive
Past
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containedsimple
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had containedperfect
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was containingprogressive
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were containingprogressive
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had been containingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of contain
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conte(y)nen, from Anglo-French contener, Old French contenir, from Latin continēre, equivalent to con- con- + -tinēre, verb suffix of tenēre “to hold” ( see tenet)
Explanation
The verb contain has many shades of meaning but it often describes something that's held back or held in by something. Kids on the last day of school may find it hard to contain their glee when summer officially starts. Picture Times Square on New Year's Eve. People can barely contain — or hold back — their excitement at being there. They clutch cups that contain — or hold — hot drinks that help them stay warm. The police set up barriers to contain — or restrain — the crowd to keep everyone under control. The next morning, the heaps of trash on the street will contain — or include — streamers, party hats, and cups.
Vocabulary lists containing contain
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 4
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade 11)
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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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:
The company said that each cable can contain anywhere from 96 to 1,728 fibers.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Some of these black holes contain millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun, yet they already existed less than 600 million years after the Big Bang.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
More than two billion cups of coffee are drunk each day and that's before we start talking about cola, energy drinks, plus some chocolate, chewing gum and sports supplements, which also contain the chemical.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
U.S. stocks recouped some of their recent losses as oil prices stabilized and confidence grew in the Federal Reserve’s ability to contain inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Similarly, a musical answer should also contain part of the question, plus have a sense of closure or finality.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The New York Times op-ed contract provides: “As a freelance contributor to The Times, you may not submit any material for publication that contains content generated, modified or enhanced by gen-A.I. tools.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
It also contains cards from the game’s classic collection.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
In reliance on that agreement, the parents entrust the surrogate with their embryo, which contains their own genetic material.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The kit contains a swab which is used to collect a sample at home before it is posted off for testing free of charge.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
If it contains salt, it is possible that the salt is left over from ancient water.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
But to do so overlooks the thrilling, genuinely thorny assertions contained in several of the season’s best films.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The softer oil prices also reflect growing optimism that the disruption to Middle Eastern crude exports can be contained, according to Samer Hasn at XS.com.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Even more striking, the energy contained in the turbulence was approximately 100 times greater than previous estimates.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
It added it could not publish its report on small boats in full because it contained sensitive intelligence.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The envelope contained the cash equivalent of $750 in Swedish krona.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Lipids containing BFAs were also present among neutral lipids stored inside droplets in the renal cortex.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Those searches led it to two different public online repositories, containing credentials belonging to other companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
No time frame for the select committee hearing has been set yet, but once all the evidence has been examined, it's expected that the committee may produce a short report containing recommendations to the BBC.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Under a piece of wood by the stump was a yellow sack containing a white Spencer’s shopping bag.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
In her lap was the envelope containing all the money that the pawnbroker had given her.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
