bound
bound Lexical Profile
bound Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Certain or extremely likely to happen or do something.
"With such thorough preparation, the research team is bound to succeed."
Compelled or obligated by law, duty, or promise.
"All participants are legally bound by the terms of the confidentiality agreement."
Going or ready to go toward a specified place or destination.
"We boarded the overnight train bound for Edinburgh."
Fastened, tied, or enclosed within a book cover.
"She kept her field notes in a leather-bound journal."
• noun
A territorial, legal, or moral limit or boundary (often used in the plural).
"The committee's proposal remained well within the bounds of the annual budget."
A springing, bouncing, or leaping movement upward or forward.
"With a single bound, the dog cleared the garden fence."
• verb
To walk or run with leaping, springing strides.
"The deer bounded gracefully across the open meadow."
To form the boundary of, enclose, or place a limit on something.
"The historic district is bounded by the river on the west and the park on the east."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Bound" represents four historically distinct words that converged in form: the past participle of "bind" (obligated or tied), an adjective meaning headed toward a destination, a noun/verb meaning a boundary or limit, and a noun/verb meaning to leap.
• Rhymes for bound
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Depending on the sense, "bound" derives from Old English "bindan" (to tie or fasten), Old Norse "buinn" (prepared or ready to go), Old French "bodne" (boundary or limit), or Middle French "bondir" (to resound and later to leap).