bound
1 Americanverb
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simple past tense and past participle of bind.
adjective
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tied; in bonds.
a bound prisoner.
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made fast as if by a band or bond.
She is bound to her family.
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secured within a cover, as a book.
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under a legal or moral obligation.
He is bound by the terms of the contract.
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It is bound to happen.
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determined or resolved.
He is bound to go.
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Pathology. constipated.
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Mathematics. (of a vector) having a specified initial point as well as magnitude and direction.
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held with another element, substance, or material in chemical or physical union.
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(of a linguistic form) occurring only in combination with other forms, as most affixes.
idioms
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bound up in / with,
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inseparably connected with.
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devoted or attached to.
She is bound up in her teaching.
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noun
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Usually bounds a limit or boundary.
the bounds of space and time;
within the bounds of his estate;
within the bounds of reason.
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something that limits, confines, or restrains.
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bounds,
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territories on or near a boundary.
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land within boundary lines.
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Mathematics. a number greater than or equal to, or less than or equal to, all the numbers in a given set.
verb (used with object)
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to limit by or as if by bounds; keep within limits or confines.
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to form the boundary or limit of.
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to name or list the boundary of.
verb (used without object)
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to abut.
idioms
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out of bounds,
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beyond the official boundaries, prescribed limits, or restricted area.
The ball bounced out of bounds.
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The park is out of bounds to students.
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adjective
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going or intending to go; on the way to; destined (usually followed byfor ).
The train is bound for Denver.
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Archaic. prepared; ready.
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a combining form of bound.
snowbound.
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a combining form of bound.
eastbound.
verb
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the past tense and past participle of bind
adjective
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in bonds or chains; tied with or as if with a rope
a bound prisoner
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(in combination) restricted; confined
housebound
fogbound
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(postpositive, foll by an infinitive) destined; sure; certain
it's bound to happen
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compelled or obliged to act, behave, or think in a particular way, as by duty, circumstance, or convention
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(of a book) secured within a cover or binding See also half-bound
to deliver bound books
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resolved; determined
bound on winning
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linguistics
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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
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(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
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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
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closely or inextricably linked with
his irritability is bound up with his work
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I am sure (something) is true
verb
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(tr) to place restrictions on; limit
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to form a boundary of (an area of land or sea, political or administrative region, etc)
noun
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maths
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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
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more generally, an element of an ordered set that has the same ordering relation to all the members of a given subset
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whence, an estimate of the extent of some set
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See bounds
verb
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to move forwards or make (one's way) by leaps or jumps
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to bounce; spring away from an impact
noun
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a jump upwards or forwards
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with unexpectedly rapid progess
her condition improved by leaps and bounds
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a sudden pronounced sense of excitement
his heart gave a sudden bound when he saw her
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a bounce, as of a ball
adjective
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going or intending to go towards; on the way to
a ship bound for Jamaica
homeward bound
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( in combination )
northbound traffic
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More idioms and phrases containing bound
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”
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.
“Whenever you have a change in leadership, military or otherwise, there is bound to be some churn in information management,” one U.S. official said, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
"This is explained by our initiatives and also by the fact that they were using Iranian ports or carrying goods coming from or bound for Iran."
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026
But if Thompson’s noir tales are bound by the restraints of the era and genre, they are also liberated by them, and these books are surprisingly experimental.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
If you are already concerned about the potential for being scammed, you don’t want to work with anyone who is not bound from the start by a professional standard to put you first.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026
As warm as July, too warm to be bound up like a mummy under my shirt.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.