within bounds

Idioms  

1. Reasonable and allowable, up to a certain point, as in It's all right to play your stereo, but please keep the volume within bounds. Like its antonym, out of bounds, this term originally referred to the boundaries of a playing area of field.

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Example Sentences

While it did not fly into exactly the correct orbit, Huot said it was travelling along a trajectory that was "within bounds".

From BBC • May 23, 2026

"I wouldn't call it nominal orbital insertion," company spokesperson Dan Huot said, adding however that it was "within bounds" of a previously analyzed trajectory.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

That led to an outcry among customers, including those who felt they were playing within bounds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Snider’s slow, elegantly understated and, within bounds, reverential opera operates as much as a passion play as an opera.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2025

Sir Philip, who had neither expected to meet nor was prepared to encounter an opposition so determined, was no longer able to keep his passion within bounds.

From Bungay Castle: A Novel. v. 1/2 by Bonhote, Elizabeth