# bind

Pronunciation: say "BYND" /baɪnd/

## Verb

1. To tie or fasten something tightly, or tie things together, with a cord, band, chain, or similar material.
   - Simple: To tie things tightly together, or tie something around something else, with rope, string or a band.
   - _Workers bind the cables into neat coils before storing them._
   - _He bound the prisoner's wrists with a length of cord._
2. To oblige, restrain, or hold someone through authority, law, duty, a promise, or affection; to have such force.
   - Simple: To make someone have to do something because of a law, promise or duty, or to hold people together.
   - _Their shared grief seemed to bind the family more closely than ever._
   - _Tradition binds each new ruler to honor the old agreements._
3. To confine, restrain, or hold a person or thing by physical force or some other influence.
   - Simple: To hold someone or something in place, or stop them moving freely, by force or some other power.
   - _The heavy cast bound her leg so tightly that she could barely bend it._
   - _Thick mud can bind a truck's wheels so tightly that it won't move an inch._
4. To join or stick together, or cause substances or particles to join and stick together into one mass.
   - Simple: To stick together, or to make things stick together and form one mass.
   - _Hemoglobin can bind oxygen molecules and carry them through the bloodstream._
   - _Enzymes bind their target molecules at a specific active site._
5. To fasten printed sheets or pages together within a cover, as in making a book.
   - Simple: To fasten the pages of a book together inside a cover.
   - _The printer will bind the manuscript in soft leather._
   - _Medieval monks bound their texts between heavy wooden boards._
7. To join or couple two things so that they work or move together.
   - Simple: To join two things together so they act as one.
   - _In the spreadsheet, you can bind a chart to a table, so the chart updates whenever the numbers change._
   - _The update lets you bind the two screens, so a change on one shows up on the other._
10. To cover or wrap something, such as a wound, with a bandage or similar material.
   - Simple: To wrap a cut or wound with cloth or a bandage.
   - _Field medics bind injuries quickly to slow the bleeding._
   - _She bound the burn loosely so the skin could breathe._
8. To protect or strengthen an edge, as of a carpet or garment, by applying a band or binding along it.
   - Simple: To strengthen an edge by sewing a strip or band along it.
   - _Tailors bind raw seams to keep the fabric from unraveling._
   - _The seamstress bound the cuffs with a contrasting strip of cloth._
9. To associate an identifier, such as a variable or method name, with a value or a location in storage.
   - Simple: To connect a name in a program to a value or place in memory.
   - _The interpreter will bind the variable to its value when the function is called._
   - _In many languages, a let statement binds a variable name to a value._
11. To wear a binder that compresses the chest to create a flat appearance, as commonly done by trans men.
   - Simple: To wear a tight garment that flattens the chest to look flat.
   - _Some people bind only on days when they go out in public._
   - _He learned to bind safely after researching which materials to avoid._
12. To become stuck or caught fast so that it no longer moves freely, as through friction.
   - Simple: To get stuck and stop moving freely, for example because something is rubbing.
   - _The saw blade began to bind in the damp plank._
   - _The mechanism binds under heavy load until it is cleaned._
13. To put someone under a legal duty to serve another, as by contract or indenture.
   - Simple: To make someone legally promise to work or serve another person.
   - _The magistrate moved to bind the orphan to a trade by formal indenture._
   - _Such agreements bind the servant to a fixed term of labor._
15. To grumble or whine about something. *(dialectal, UK)*
   - Simple: To complain or moan about something over and over.

## Noun

6. A troublesome situation; a difficult problem or predicament with no easy way out.
   - Simple: A difficult situation that is hard to get out of.
   - _The new regulations left small businesses in a financial bind._
   - _He found himself in a bind, unable to satisfy either side._
14. A tight grip on a position that the opponent struggles to break free from.
   - Simple: A strong hold on a game position that the other player finds very hard to break.
   - _Black struggled for hours against a positional bind on the queenside._
   - _The grandmaster established a bind that left his rival without active moves._

## Verb

16. To check the body from its natural action, especially by causing constipation. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To make it hard for the body to pass waste, as certain foods do.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A cord, band, or other thing used to tie or hold something together.
- (verb) To combine one or more object modules into a program that the computer can run.
- (noun) A twining or climbing plant or stem, particularly the hop vine.
- (noun) A curved line or tie in written music that groups notes together.
- (noun) The hardened clay found in coal mines, or other overlying rock such as sandstone or shale.

## Origin

From Middle English 'binden', from Old English 'bindan', tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root '*bʰendʰ-' meaning 'to tie'. It is related to German 'binden' and Dutch 'binden', and is a doublet of 'bandana'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bind (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).