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Webster 1913 Edition

Bound

Bound

(bound)
,
Noun.
[OE.
bounde
,
bunne
, OF.
bonne
,
bonde
,
bodne
, F.
borne
, fr. LL.
bodina
,
bodena
,
bonna
; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Arm.
bonn
boundary, limit, and
boden
,
bod
, a tuft or cluster of trees, by which a boundary or limit could be marked. Cf.
Bourne
.]
The external or limiting line, either real or imaginary, of any object or space; that which limits or restrains, or within which something is limited or restrained; limit; confine; extent; boundary.
He hath compassed the waters with
bounds
.
Job xxvi. 10.
On earth’s remotest
bounds
.
Campbell.
And mete the
bounds
of hate and love.
Tennyson.
To keep within bounds
,
not to exceed or pass beyond assigned limits; to act with propriety or discretion.
Syn. – See
Boundary
.

Bound

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Bounded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Bounding
.]
1.
To limit; to terminate; to fix the furthest point of extension of; – said of natural or of moral objects; to lie along, or form, a boundary of; to inclose; to circumscribe; to restrain; to confine.
Where full measure only
bounds
excess.
Milton.
Phlegethon . . .
Whose fiery flood the burning empire
bounds
.
Dryden.
2.
To name the boundaries of;
as, to
bound
France
.

Bound

,
Verb.
I.
[F.
bondir
to leap, OF.
bondir
,
bundir
, to leap, resound, fr. L.
bombitare
to buzz, hum, fr.
bombus
a humming, buzzing. See
Bomb
.]
1.
To move with a sudden spring or leap, or with a succession of springs or leaps; as the beast bounded from his den; the herd bounded across the plain.
Before his lord the ready spaniel
bounds
.
Pope.
And the waves
bound
beneath me as a steed
That knows his rider.
Byron.
2.
To rebound, as an elastic ball.

Bound

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To make to bound or leap;
as, to
bound
a horse
.
[R.]
Shak.
2.
To cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound;
as, to
bound
a ball on the floor
.
[Collog.]

Bound

,
Noun.
1.
A leap; an elastic spring; a jump.
A
bound
of graceful hardihood.
Wordsworth.
2.
Rebound;
as, the
bound
of a ball
.
Johnson.
3.
(Dancing)
Spring from one foot to the other.

Bound

,
imp.
&
p.
p.
of
Bind
.

Bound

,
p.
p.
&
Adj.
1.
Restrained by a hand, rope, chain, fetters, or the like.
2.
Inclosed in a binding or cover;
as, a
bound
volume
.
3.
Under legal or moral restraint or obligation.
4.
Constrained or compelled; destined; certain; – followed by the infinitive;
as, he is
bound
to succeed; he is
bound
to fail
.
5.
Resolved;
as, I am
bound
to do it
.
[Collog. U. S.]
6.
Constipated; costive.
☞ Used also in composition; as, icebound, windbound, hidebound, etc.
Bound bailiff
(Eng. Law)
,
a sheriff's officer who serves writs, makes arrests, etc. The sheriff being answerable for the bailiff's misdemeanors, the bailiff is usually under bond for the faithful discharge of his trust.
–
Bound up in
,
entirely devoted to; inseparable from.

Bound

,
Adj.
[Past p. of OE.
bounen
to prepare, fr.
boun
ready, prepared, fr. Icel.
būinn
, p. p. of
būa
to dwell, prepare; akin to E.
boor
and
bower
. See
Bond
,
Adj.
, and cf.
Busk
,
Verb.
]
Ready or intending to go; on the way toward; going; – with to or for, or with an adverb of motion;
as, a ship is
bound
to Cadiz, or
for
Cadiz
.
“The mariner bound homeward.”
Cowper.

Webster 1828 Edition

Bound

BOUND

, n.
1.
A limit; the line which comprehends the whole of any given object or space. It differs from boundary. See the latter. Bound is applied to kingdoms, states,cities, towns, tracts of land, and to territorial jurisdiction.
2.
A limit by which any excursion is restrained; the limit of indulgence or desire; as, the love of money knows no bounds.
3.
A leap; a spring; a jump; a rebound.
4.
In dancing, a spring from one foot to the other.

BOUND

,
Verb.
T.
To limit; to terminate; to fix the furthest point of extension,whether of natural or moral objects, as of land, or empire, or of passion, desire,indulgence. Hence, to restrain or confine; as, to bound our wishes. To bound in is hardly legitimate.
1.
To make to bound.

BOUND

,
Verb.
I.
To leap; to jump; to spring; to move forward by leaps.
Before his lord the ready spaniel bounds.
1.
To rebound--but the sense is the same.

BOUND

, pret. and pp. of bind. As a participle, made fast by a band,or by chains or fetters; obliged by moral ties; confined; restrained.
1.
As a participle or perhaps more properly an adj.,destined; tending; going, or intending to go; with to or for; as, a ship is bound to Cadiz, or for Cadiz.
The application of this word,in this use, is taken from the orders given for the government of the voyage,implying obligation, or from tending, stretching. So destined implies being bound.
Bound is used in composition, as in ice-bound, wind-bound, when a ship is confined or prevented from sailing by ice or by contrary winds.

Definition 2024

bound

bound

See also: -bound

English

Alternative forms

Verb

bound

  1. simple past tense and past participle of bind
    • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Fate of the Artemis:
      “[…] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of Port Arthur, had disappeared. […]”
    I bound the splint to my leg.
    I had bound the splint with duct tape.

Adjective

bound ‎(not comparable)

  1. (with infinitive) Obliged (to).
    • 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 5, in The Hocussing of Cigarette:
      Then I had a good think on the subject of the hocussing of Cigarette, and I was reluctantly bound to admit that once again the man in the corner had found the only possible solution to the mystery.
    You are not legally bound to reply.‎
  2. (with infinitive) Very likely (to).
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 5, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose. And the queerer the cure for those ailings the bigger the attraction. A place like the Right Livers' Rest was bound to draw freaks, same as molasses draws flies.
    They were bound to come into conflict eventually.‎
  3. (linguistics, of a morpheme) That cannot stand alone as a free word.
  4. (mathematics, logic, of a variable) Constrained by a quantifier.
  5. (dated) constipated; costive
  6. Confined or restricted to a certain place; e.g. railbound.
  7. Unable to move in certain conditions; e.g. snowbound.
Antonyms
  • (logic: constrained by a quantifier): free
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English bounde, from Old French bunne, from Medieval Latin bodina, earlier butina ‎(“a bound, limit”)

Noun

bound ‎(plural bounds)

  1. (often used in plural) A boundary, the border which one must cross in order to enter or leave a territory.
    I reached the northern bound of my property, took a deep breath and walked on.
    Somewhere within these bounds you may find a buried treasure.
  2. (mathematics) a value which is known to be greater or smaller than a given set of values
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

bound ‎(third-person singular simple present bounds, present participle bounding, simple past and past participle bounded)

  1. To surround a territory or other geographical entity.
    France, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra bound Spain.
    Kansas is bounded by Nebraska on the north, Missouri on the east, Oklahoma on the south and Colorado on the west.
  2. (mathematics) To be the boundary of.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 3

From French bondir ‎(“to leap, bound, originally make a loud resounding noise”); perhaps, from Late Latin bombitāre, present active infinitive of bombitō ‎(“hum, buzz”), frequentive verb, from Latin bombus ‎(“a humming or buzzing”).

Noun

bound ‎(plural bounds)

  1. A sizeable jump, great leap.
    The deer crossed the stream in a single bound.
  2. A spring from one foot to the other in dancing.
  3. (dated) A bounce; a rebound.
    the bound of a ball
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

bound ‎(third-person singular simple present bounds, present participle bounding, simple past and past participle bounded)

  1. (intransitive) To leap, move by jumping.
    The rabbit bounded down the lane.
  2. (transitive) To cause to leap.
    to bound a horse
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  3. (intransitive, dated) To rebound; to bounce.
    a rubber ball bounds on the floor
  4. (transitive, dated) To cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound; to bounce.
    to bound a ball on the floor
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 4

Alteration of boun, with -d partly for euphonic effect and partly by association with Etymology 1, above.

Adjective

bound ‎(comparative more bound, superlative most bound)

  1. (obsolete) ready, prepared.
  2. ready, able to start or go (to); moving in the direction (of).
    Which way are you bound?
    Is that message bound for me?
Derived terms
Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: expression · Duke · battle · #736: bound · York · impossible · greatest

Etymology

See bind

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaʊnd/
  • Rhymes: -aʊnd

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