bind

[[t]baɪnd[/t]]

v. bound, bind•ing, n.

1) to fasten or secure with or as if with a band

2) to encircle with a band or ligature:

to bind one's hair with a ribbon[/ex]

3) to bandage (often fol. by up):

to bind up one's wounds[/ex]

4) to fix in place by girding:

They bound his hands behind him[/ex]

5) to cause to cohere:

Ice bound the soil[/ex]

6) to unite by any legal or moral tie:

to be bound by a contract[/ex]

7) to place under obligation (usu. used passively):

We are bound to obey the laws[/ex]

8) law to put under legal obligation, as to appear as witness:

to be bound over to the grand jury[/ex]

9) to make binding on both buyer and seller:

to bind an order with a deposit[/ex]

10) pri to secure within a cover:

to bind a book in leather[/ex]

11) to cover the edge of:

to bind a carpet[/ex]

12) (of clothing) to chafe or restrict (the wearer)

13) med to constipate

14) to indenture as an apprentice:

bound as a child to a blacksmith[/ex]

15) to become compact or solid; cohere

16) to be obligatory

17) to chafe or restrict, as poorly fitting garments

18) to stick fast, as a drill in a hole

19) tex phv bind off

cast 33)

20) the act of binding, or the state of being bound

21) something that binds

22) a difficult situation or predicament:

This schedule has us in a bind[/ex]

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Etymology: bef. 1000; ME; OE bindan bind′a•ble,adj.