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bound
in a sentence
grouped by contextual meaning

bound as in:  south-bound lanes

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  • The car broke down in an east-bound lane of the highway 10.
    bound = traveling (in that direction)
  • The earth-bound asteroid is thought to have a 1 in 300 chance of hitting our planet in the year 2880.
    bound = travelling to that location (in this case, earth)
  • The movie is called Homeward Bound.
    bound = travelling to that location (in this case, home)
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  • I am bound and determined to get into a good college.
    bound = headed (going toward that place--in this case, preparing and planning to go to college)
  • She's a geek like Seven, smart enough for Harvard but Howard bound, and real sweet.  (source)
    bound = heading to (a specific location)
  • The monster was bound to Crete, and whatever would be done, Crete must guide me.  (source)
    bound = traveling
  • "Where are you bound?" asked the young Arab.  (source)
    bound = traveling to
  • The Naoetsu-bound men climbed aboard a truck, which bore them into Tokyo.  (source)
    bound = heading (traveling to a specific location)
  • So he waited until a bathroom-bound girl did it for him.  (source)
    bound = traveling (to a specific location)
  • Some years Grandpa would look out over the small, frightened herd bound for the meat grinder, at the young stallions pacing, coming to terms with their first captivity, and a hunger would appear in his eyes.  (source)
    bound = heading (traveling to a specific location)
  • I couldn't see, because we were stuck behind a swaying farm truck top-heavy with crates of white geese, bound no doubt for market.  (source)
    bound = traveling (to a specific location)
  • Which was in no way characteristic of his age or time, where animals featured mainly dead, in sumptuous trophy pieces, limp hares and fish and fowl, heaped high and bound for table?  (source)
    bound = heading
  • "Come time to use it I'll be bound for Barbados," replied Nat briskly.  (source)
    bound = traveling (to a particular location)
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bound as in:  bound to succeed

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  • Her rudeness is bound to get her in trouble.
    bound = almost certain
  • A meal presided over by just Effie and Haymitch is bound to be a disaster.  (source)
  • It's bound to be harder to clear than the first two.  (source)
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  • It wasn't Johnny's fault Bob was a booze-hound and Cherry went for boys who were bound for trouble.  (source)
    bound = almost certain
  • An idiot like you is bound to trip over or run into something.  (source)
  • You know how greedy they are, they're bound to eat them.  (source)
  • Gennaro said, "Your paper concludes that Hammond's island is bound to fail?"  (source)
    bound = certain
  • His parents must be pulling their hair out, Officer Delinko thought, but the kid's bound to turn up safe.  (source)
    bound = almost certain
  • Something was bound to pop off.  (source)
  • If you ingest too much swainsonine, you are bound to starve, no matter how much food you put into your stomach.  (source)
    bound = certain
  • I was the brooding type, she said; it was bound to come out somehow.  (source)
    bound = almost certain
  • And if this fight is long, he's bound to win.  (source)
    bound = almost certain to
  • That's also why we rarely say thank you, manana, because we believe a Pashtun will never forget a good deed and is bound to reciprocate at some point, just as he will a bad one.  (source)
    bound = certain
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bound as in:  bound together or bound by law

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  • The suspect sat in the cell with her wrists bound by rope.
    bound = tied together
  • The pieces of bread are moistened and bound together with eggs and a small amount of flour.
    bound = held together
  • The new president said she is not bound by her predecessor's policy.
    bound = obligated (required to do follow)
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Show 10 more with 3 word variations
  • We are bound by treaty to come to their defense if they are invaded.
    bound = required
  • Shipping in that area is ice-bound this time of year.
    bound = prevented (because there is so much ice)
  • She is duty bound to try to help us.
    bound = required (by a job or other responsibility)
  • Unlike pledged delegates, bound delegates are legally required to vote for the candidate they were elected to represent.
    bound = obligated (required to act in a certain way)
  • The bail of straw is bound with two wires.
    bound = held together
  • The wall was built with primitive straw-bound bricks.
    bound = held together (the straw helps hold the bricks together)
  • The kira is the national dress for women in Bhutan. It is an ankle-length dress consisting of a rectangular piece of fabric wrapped about the body, pinned at the shoulders, and bounded at the waist with a long belt.
    bounded = wrapped or held together
  • The prisoner was gagged and bound.
    bound = tied up
  • She unbound from her neck the amulets of her superstition and dropped them into the glowing brazier.†  (source)
    standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unbound means not and reverses the meaning of bound. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
  • We knew you were free then, unbound by disappointing results.†  (source)
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bound as in:  out of bounds

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  • Her behavior was out of bounds.
    out of bounds = beyond the limits of what is acceptable
  • Our love knows no bounds.
    bounds = boundaries (saying it is limitless)
  • The ranch is bound to the east by a river.
    bound = has a boundary
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Show 10 more with 10 word variations
  • The first scholar said it was between 100 and 200 C.E., but the second scholar suggested a lower bound.
    bound = limit (in this case, a time before 100 A.D.)
  • I cannot take away that hunger, but I may set bounds upon it.  (source)
    bounds = boundaries
  • She stared longingly into the boundless gray distance as if far, far on the other side of Lake Michigan lay China.  (source)
    boundless = without boundaries or limits
    standard suffix: The suffix "-less" in boundless means without. This is the same pattern you see in words like fearless, homeless, and endless.
  • There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set.†  (source)
    unbounded = not limited or without boundaries
    standard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unbounded means not and reverses the meaning of bounded. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
  • Fifteen yards later, somebody pushed me out of bounds.†  (source)
    out of bounds = beyond the permitted boundary or limit
  • There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes.  (source)
    out-of-bounds = beyond the permitted boundary
  • Tori was the only one in the tattoo place, so I felt safe getting the symbol of Abnegation—a pair of hands, palms up as if to help someone stand, bounded by a circle—on my right shoulder.  (source)
    bounded = surrounded or bordered
  • Their relationship was built on friendship, and in matters of friendship he was boundlessly loyal.†  (source)
  • She sensed an expanse of freedom before her, and the boundlessness of it excited her.†  (source)
    boundlessness = the quality of being without boundaries or limits
    standard suffix: The suffix "-ness" converts an adjective to a noun. This is the same pattern you see in words like darkness, kindness, and coolness.
  • Night came, and Passepartout re-entered the native quarter, where he wandered through the streets, lit by vari-coloured lanterns, looking on at the dancers, who were executing skilful steps and boundings, and the astrologers who stood in the open air with their telescopes.†  (source)
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bound as in:  The deer bound across the trail.

She's the sort of person who bounds out of bed in the morning and runs five miles before starting her day.
bounds = jumps
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  • The deer bounded across the trail and into the woods.
    bounded = leaped (jumped)
  • The dog jumped the fence in a single bound.
    bound = leap
  • The company is growing by leaps and bounds.
    bounds = jumps

    (This expression means that the company is growing very rapidly.)
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Show 10 more with 5 word variations
  • Turtle bounded up. "Let me out of here: a person can't breathe in this closet."  (source)
    bounded = jumped or leaped
  • This one had taken a single bounding leap and keeled over.  (source)
    bounding = moving quickly
  • …and a number of people who thought they were right young and spry have noticed that they can't bound up a flight of stairs like they used to, without their heart fluttering a little….  (source)
    bound = leap
  • With that, he bounds back up the escalator and disappears inside Journeys.  (source)
    bounds = moved quickly (with leaping strides)
  • in a shower Grapes that o'ercluster Gush into must, or Flow into rivers Of foaming and flashing Wine, that is dashing Gems, as it boundeth Down the high places, And spreading, surroundeth With crystalline spaces, In happy embraces, Blossoming forelands, Emerald shore-lands!†  (source)
    boundeth = leaps or jumps
    standard suffix: Today, the suffix "-eth" is replaced by "-s", so that where they said "She boundeth" in older English, today we say "She bounds."
  • Mr. Birkway bounded around the room as if the opportunity to teach us was his notion of paradise.  (source)
    bounded = moved quickly
  • Without seeing him, Ender knew it would bring his face closer, almost in Ender's hair; so instead of kicking he lunged upward off the floor, with the powerful lunge of the soldier bounding from the wall, and jammed his head into Bonzo's face.  (source)
    bounding = leaping
  • Roy saw a big pointy-eared dog, probably a German shepherd, bound off somebody's porch and go for the boy.  (source)
    bound = leap
  • Everyone turned as Stacey bounded down the steps.  (source)
    bounded = moved quickly
  • "Oh, yes," she shrieks, bounding out of the car.  (source)
    bounding = leaping
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rare meaning

Show 1 with this contextual meaning
And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first;— A third is like the former.  (source)
bound = encircled
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