bondage
Americannoun
-
slavery or involuntary servitude; serfdom.
-
the state of being bound by or subjected to some external power or control.
- Synonyms:
- imprisonment, confinement, captivity, thralldom
-
the state or practice of being physically restrained, as by being tied up, chained, or put in handcuffs, for sexual gratification.
-
Early English Law. personal subjection to the control of a superior; villeinage.
noun
-
slavery or serfdom; servitude
-
Also called: villeinage. (in medieval Europe) the condition and status of unfree peasants who provided labour and other services for their lord in return for holdings of land
-
a sexual practice in which one partner is physically bound
Related Words
See slavery.
Etymology
Origin of bondage
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-Latin bondagium. See bond 2, -age
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.
His 1845 autobiography, a blistering tale of bondage in Maryland and a daring flight to freedom, remains one of history’s fiercest attacks on slavery.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
During the same oral argument, you had Neil Gorsuch insisting that the book "Pride Puppy" involved a sex worker who was into bondage.
From Salon • May 16, 2025
"I refuse to be trapped by the bondage that someone attempted to put on me by attacking us as they did last night," he told reporters.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025
It is well known that the 14th Amendment revolutionized our Constitution, changing a document that sanctioned bondage into one that promised liberation and equal citizenship.
From Slate • Apr. 19, 2024
Night after night they slipped into each other’s cabins and talked of the man Denmark Vesey, of freedom, of the children of Israel and how they were led out of bondage.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
