All 17 Uses
bound
in
The Comedy of Errors
(Auto-generated)
- —The sailors sought for safety by our boat, And left the ship, then sinking-ripe, to us;: My wife, more careful for the latter-born, Had fast'ned him unto a small spare mast, Such as sea-faring men provide for storms: To him one of the other twins was bound, Whilst I had been like heedful of the other.†
Scene 1.1
- Five summers have I spent in furthest Greece, Roaming clean through the bounds of Asia, And, coasting homeward, came to Ephesus; Hopeless to find, yet loath to leave unsought Or that or any place that harbours men.†
Scene 1.1 *
- There's nothing situate under heaven's eye But hath his bound in earth, in sea, in sky; The beasts, the fishes, and the winged fowls, Are their males' subjects, and at their controls: Man, more divine, the masters of all these, Lord of the wide world and wild wat'ry seas, Indued with intellectual sense and souls Of more pre-eminence than fish and fowls, Are masters to their females, and their lords: Then let your will attend on their accords.†
Scene 2.1
- You know, since Pentecost the sum is due, And since I have not much importun'd you; Nor now I had not, but that I am bound To Persia, and want guilders for my voyage; Therefore make present satisfaction, Or I'll attach you by this officer.†
Scene 4.1
- Saving your merry humour, here's the note, How much your chain weighs to the utmost carat; The fineness of the gold, and chargeful fashion; Which doth amount to three odd ducats more Than I stand debted to this gentleman: I pray you, see him presently discharg'd, For he is bound to sea, and stays but for it.†
Scene 4.1
- Mistress, both man and master is possess'd; I know it by their pale and deadly looks: They must be bound, and laid in some dark room.†
Scene 4.4
- Will you be bound for nothing?†
Scene 4.4
- And come with naked swords: let's call more help, To have them bound again.†
Scene 4.4
- Once did I get him bound and sent him home, Whilst to take order for the wrongs I went, That here and there his fury had committed.†
Scene 5.1
- My master and his man are both broke loose, Beaten the maids a-row, and bound the doctor; Whose beard they have singed off with brands of fire; And ever as it blazed they threw on him Great pails of puddled mire to quench the hair: My master preaches patience to him, while His man with scissors nicks him like a fool: And, sure, unless you send some present help, Between them they will kill the conjurer.†
Scene 5.1
- And gazing in mine eyes, feeling my pulse, And with no face, as 'twere, outfacing me, Cries out, I was possess'd: then altogether They fell upon me, bound me, bore me thence;†
Scene 5.1
- And in a dark and dankish vault at home There left me and my man, both bound together;†
Scene 5.1
- Within this hour I was his bondman, sir, But he, I thank him, gnaw'd in two my cords: Now am I Dromio and his man unbound.†
Scene 5.1 *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.
- Ourselves we do remember, sir, by you; For lately we were bound as you are now.†
Scene 5.1
- Ay, sir, but I am sure I do not; and whatsoever a man denies, you are now bound to believe him.†
Scene 5.1
- who hath bound him here?†
Scene 5.1
- Whoever bound him, I will loose his bonds, And gain a husband by his liberty.†
Scene 5.1
Definitions:
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(1)
(bound as in: south-bound lanes) traveling in a particular direction or to a specific location
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(2)
(bound as in: bound to succeed) almost certain to; or determined to
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(3)
(bound as in: bound together or bound by law) constrained and/or held together or wrappedThe sense of constrained, can mean tied up or obligated depending upon the context. For example:
- "Her wrists were bound." -- tied up
- "I am bound by my word." -- required or obligated (in this case to keep a promise)
- "He is muscle bound." -- prevented from moving easily (due to having such large, tight muscles)
The exact meaning of the senses of held together or wrapped also depend upon context. For example:- "The pages of the book are bound with glue." -- held together physically
- "The book is bound in leather." -- wrapped or covered
- "The United States and England are bound together by a common language." -- connected or united (tied together, figuratively)
- "She cleaned the wound and bound it with fresh bandages." -- wrapped
- "She is wheelchair-bound." -- connected (moves with a wheelchair because she is unable to walk)
- "The jacket has bound buttonholes." -- edges wrapped by fabric or trim rather than stitches
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(4)
(bound as in: out of bounds) a boundary or limit
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(5)
(bound as in: The deer bound across the trail.) to leap or jump
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(6)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) For more specialized senses of bound, see a comprehensive dictionary. For example, the word can refer to constipation and has specialized meanings in law, chemistry, logic, and linguistics.