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bound

1 syllable

Quick answer

As a verb, bound means surround a territory or other geographical entity. As an adjective, it means obliged (to).

Meanings of bound

34 meanings

To surround a territory or other geographical entity; to form the boundary of.
“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.”
mathematicsTo be the bound of.
To leap, move by jumping.
“The rabbit bounded down the lane.”
To cause to leap.
“to bound a horse”
Move forward by leaps and bounds
“The horse bounded across the meadow”
“The child leapt across the puddle”
“Can you jump over the fence?”
Similar: jump, leap, spring
Place limits on (extent or amount or access)
“restrict the use of this parking lot”
“limit the time you can spend with your friends”
Similar: restrict, trammel, limit, confine, throttle
Spring back; spring away from an impact
“The rubber ball bounced”
“These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide”
Similar: bounce, resile, take a hop, spring, rebound, recoil

Older and rare meanings (2)

datedTo rebound; to bounce.
“a rubber ball bounds on the floor”
datedTo cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound; to bounce.
“to bound a ball on the floor”

Simple past tense and past participle of bind

with infinitiveObliged (to).
“You are not legally bound to reply.”
linguisticsof a morphemeThat cannot stand alone as a free word.
mathematicslogicof a variableConstrained by a quantifier.
Confined or restricted to a certain place; e.g. railbound.
Unable to move in certain conditions; e.g. snowbound.
Ready to start or go (to); moving in the direction (of).
“Which way are you bound?”
“Is that message bound for me?”
with infinitiveVery likely (to), certain to
“They were bound to come into conflict eventually.”
Held with another element, substance or material in chemical or physical union
Secured with a cover or binding; often used as a combining form
“bound volumes”
“leather-bound volumes”
(usually followed by ‘to’) governed by fate
“bound to happen”
“an old house destined to be demolished”
“he is destined to be famous”
Similar: destined
Covered or wrapped with a bandage
“the bandaged wound on the back of his head”
“an injury bound in fresh gauze”
Similar: bandaged
Headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in ‘college-bound students’
“children bound for school”
“a flight destined for New York”
Similar: destined
Bound by an oath
“a bound official”
Bound by contract
Similar: apprenticed, articled, indentured

Older and rare meanings (2)

often used in pluralA 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.”
mathematicsA value which is known to be greater or smaller than a given set of values.
A sizeable jump, great leap.
“The deer crossed the stream in a single bound.”
A spring from one foot to the other in dancing.
A line determining the limits of an area
Similar: boundary, edge
The line or plane indicating the limit or extent of somethinglocation
Similar: boundary, bounds
The greatest possible degree of something
“what he did was beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior”
“to the limit of his ability”
Similar: limit, boundary
A light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
Similar: leap, leaping, spring, saltation, bounce