bound

¹ American  

[bound] / baʊnd /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of bind.

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adjective

1. tied; in bonds.

   a bound prisoner.

2. made fast as if by a band or bond.

   She is bound to her family.

3. secured within a cover, as a book.

4. under a legal or moral obligation.

   He is bound by the terms of the contract.

   Synonyms:

   compelled, obliged, liable

5. destined; sure; certain.

   It is bound to happen.

6. determined or resolved.

   He is bound to go.

7. Pathology. constipated.

8. Mathematics. (of a vector) having a specified initial point as well as magnitude and direction.

9. held with another element, substance, or material in chemical or physical union.

10. (of a linguistic form) occurring only in combination with other forms, as most affixes.

idioms

1. bound up in / with,

   1. inseparably connected with.

   2. devoted or attached to.

      She is bound up in her teaching.

bound ² American  

[bound] / baʊnd /

verb (used without object)

1. to move by leaps; leap; jump; spring.

   The colt bounded through the meadow.

2. to rebound, as a ball; bounce.

   The ball bounded against the wall.

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noun

1. a leap onward or upward; jump.

2. a rebound; bounce.

bound ³ American  

[bound] / baʊnd /

noun

1. Usually bounds a limit or boundary.

   the bounds of space and time;

   within the bounds of his estate;

   within the bounds of reason.

   Synonyms:

   confines, frontier, border

2. something that limits, confines, or restrains.

3. bounds,

   1. territories on or near a boundary.

   2. land within boundary lines.

4. Mathematics. a number greater than or equal to, or less than or equal to, all the numbers in a given set.

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verb (used with object)

1. to limit by or as if by bounds; keep within limits or confines.

2. to form the boundary or limit of.

3. to name or list the boundary of.

verb (used without object)

1. to abut.

idioms

1. out of bounds,

   1. beyond the official boundaries, prescribed limits, or restricted area.

      The ball bounced out of bounds.

   2. forbidden; prohibited.

      The park is out of bounds to students.

bound ⁴ American  

[bound] / baʊnd /

adjective

1. going or intending to go; on the way to; destined (usually followed byfor ).

   The train is bound for Denver.

2. Archaic. prepared; ready.

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-bound ⁵ American  

1. a combining form of bound.

   snowbound.

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-bound ⁶ American  

1. a combining form of bound.

   eastbound.

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bound ¹ British  

/ baʊnd /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of bind

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adjective

1. in bonds or chains; tied with or as if with a rope

   a bound prisoner

2. (in combination) restricted; confined

   housebound

   fogbound

3. (postpositive, foll by an infinitive) destined; sure; certain

   it's bound to happen

4. compelled or obliged to act, behave, or think in a particular way, as by duty, circumstance, or convention

5. (of a book) secured within a cover or binding See also half-bound

   to deliver bound books

6. resolved; determined

   bound on winning

7. linguistics

   1. denoting a morpheme, such as the prefix non- , that occurs only as part of another word and not as a separate word in itself Compare free

   2. (in systemic grammar) denoting a clause that has a nonfinite predicator or that is introduced by a binder, and that occurs only together with a freestanding clause Compare freestanding

8. logic (of a variable) occurring within the scope of a quantifier that indicates the degree of generality of the open sentence in which the variable occurs: in ( x ) ( Fx → bxy ), x is bound and y is free See free

9. closely or inextricably linked with

   his irritability is bound up with his work

10. I am sure (something) is true

bound ² British  

/ baʊnd /

verb

1. (tr) to place restrictions on; limit

2. to form a boundary of (an area of land or sea, political or administrative region, etc)

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noun

1. maths

   1. a number which is greater than all the members of a set of numbers (an upper bound ), or less than all its members (a lower bound ) See also bounded

   2. more generally, an element of an ordered set that has the same ordering relation to all the members of a given subset

   3. whence, an estimate of the extent of some set

2. See bounds

bound ³ British  

/ baʊnd /

verb

1. to move forwards or make (one's way) by leaps or jumps

2. to bounce; spring away from an impact

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noun

1. a jump upwards or forwards

2. with unexpectedly rapid progess

   her condition improved by leaps and bounds

3. a sudden pronounced sense of excitement

   his heart gave a sudden bound when he saw her

4. a bounce, as of a ball

bound ⁴ British  

/ baʊnd /

adjective

1. 1. going or intending to go towards; on the way to

      a ship bound for Jamaica

      homeward bound

   2. ( in combination )

      northbound traffic

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bound More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bound

• bind
• by leaps and bounds
• duty bound
• honor bound
• out of bounds
• within bounds

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Usage

What does -bound mean? The combining form -bound is used like a suffix that has two distinct senses. The first of these senses is “tied, in bonds” or "detained," and this form of -bound is occasionally used in a variety of everyday terms, especially in reference to inclement weather. The form -bound in this sense comes from the past participle and past tense of the verb bind, meaning “to fasten or secure with a band or bond.”The second of these senses is “going or intending to go; destined,” and this form of -bound is occasionally used in a variety of everyday terms, especially when indicating a direction or destination of travel. The form -bound in this sense ultimately comes from Old Norse būa, meaning “to get ready.”Not every word that ends with the exact letters -bound, e.g., abound or rebound, is necessarily using the combining form -bound to denote “tied” or "destined." Learn why abound means “to occur in great quantities” at our entry for the word.

Related Words

See skip ¹.

Other Word Forms

• boundable adjective
• boundingly adverb
• boundness noun

Etymology

Origin of bound¹

Past participle and past tense of bind

Origin of bound²

First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French bond “a leap,” bondir “to leap,” originally “bounce back, echo,” ultimately from Vulgar Latin bombitīre (unattested) for bombitāre “to buzz, whiz” ( Latin bomb(us) ( bomb ) + -it- intensive suffix + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix)

Origin of bound³

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English bounde, from Anglo-French; Old French bone, bonde, variant of bodne, from Medieval Latin budina, of uncertain origin; bourn ²

Origin of bound⁴

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English b(o)un) “ready,” from Old Norse būinn, past participle of būa “to get ready”

Explanation

To bound is to jump or hop — usually as you run. Bound can also mean to go or to plan to go, especially to a certain destination, as in being bound for New York or homeward-bound. Superman can "leap tall buildings in a single bound," but the word bound is usually about boundaries. When you're playing soccer or football, the ball goes "out of bounds." Someone can also be bound with rope — tied up. Commitments are another kind of tie. When you get married, you're bound to your partner. If you make a promise, you're bound to your word. On a less pleasant note, if you're constipated, you're bound up.

Example Sentences

Even at a White House viewed as friendly to business, a United and American combination would be bound to raise serious concerns.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

Whispers about sleazy behavior generally do not meet the coverage threshold for traditional newsrooms, which are bound by strict ethical standards.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Kpler said that vessel was carrying 31,500 tonnes of methanol and was bound for Sohar in Oman, according to data from its transponder.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Live pictures showed the capsule push gracefully away, homeward bound.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

“A thing that powerful is bound to leave a trail.”

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• hop
• leap
• prance
• ricochet
• skip
• vault