unbind
Americanverb (used with object)
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to release from bonds or restraint, as a prisoner; free.
-
to unfasten or loose, as a bond or tie.
verb
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to set free from restraining bonds or chains; release
-
to unfasten or make loose (a bond, tie, etc)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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unbindsimple
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unbindssimple
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have unboundperfect
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has unboundperfect
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am unbindingprogressive
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are unbindingprogressive
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is unbindingprogressive
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have been unbindingperfect progressive
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has been unbindingperfect progressive
Past
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unboundsimple
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had unboundperfect
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was unbindingprogressive
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were unbindingprogressive
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had been unbindingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unbind
before 950; Middle English unbinden, Old English unbindan; cognate with German entbinden. See un- 2, bind
Explanation
To unbind is to release someone or something that's tied up. In a fantasy novel, the heroine might unbind the prisoners of the evil ogre and rescue them from his terrifying lair. The verb bind means to secure or fasten something using rope or another kind of restraint. Unbind is the opposite (you can tell from the "reverse" prefix un-). The famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini managed to unbind himself in many unlikely situations — underwater, in a straitjacket, and buried in the ground, among others.
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:
I am trying to unbind the knots of power that still have effects in the present.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 8, 2022
Once released, the acetylcholine stays in the cleft and can continually bind and unbind to postsynaptic receptors.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Reince Priebus, then the chairman of the R.N.C., held long meetings with Mr. Cuccinelli and Rules Committee members who were seeking to unbind delegates.
From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2021
At higher temperatures, these vortices unbind and move away from each other, and are eventually destroyed by the system’s entropy.
From Nature ● May 1, 2019
Then they rested and slept without fear upon the ground; for their guides would not permit them to unbind their eyes, and they could not climb.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
The group wants delegates to return to the floor once their state reaches the round of balloting that formally unbinds them to do whatever they want.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 13, 2016
Meyer unbinds the captive, and the huge fish and I are floating free in the crystalline blue water.
From Time Magazine Archive
DISSIMULATION, standing behind FRAUD, unbinds him, and while all the rest behold SIMPLICITY, they two slip away; PLEASURE, missing FRAUD, saith— PLEASURE.
From A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 6 by Hazlitt, William Carew
Benzayda unbinds Ozmyn, and gives him her sword.
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 04 by Scott, Walter, Sir
It unbinds the chains of the captive soul and permits it to take its flight.
From The World's Great Sermons, Volume 10 Drummond to Jowett, and General Index by Kleiser, Grenville
Clemency is a plea, unbound by the structure and procedural limitations of the law.
From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026
His scores, with their inherent rigor and overt religiosity, seemingly simple structure and patient exposition, conjure a world both foundational and unbound.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
“The Brutalist” is a film, in part, about the perils of unbound creativity, but Corbet manages to prove his own film wrong by assembling the most monumental achievement of any of the five nominees.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2025
But once he releases his delegates, they would be unbound by his wishes, meaning any number of candidates can try to win a majority of more than 4,500 voting party delegates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2024
“No,” she said, sweeping her unbound hair over a shoulder.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
"It was different than the usual encounters I have with my Palestinian artist friends; there was this unbinding connection, because we don't know if we're going to see each other" again, he said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
As part of their bids, the companies had also submitted unbinding offers to build three more nuclear reactors.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2024
“Vanessa has this unbinding, positive outlook on life,” Mr. Gynd said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2019
The economies of the two nations are deeply enmeshed at this point, and unbinding them will be painful—especially for industries like agriculture, for which trade with China has been a boon.
From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2018
“We have to get out of here. Help me with the unbinding spell, but be super careful you don’t do it to your leg by accident.”
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
