bonds

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bond.

   Investors moved their savings into government bonds during the downturn.

   The bonds between the teammates deepened over the long season.

   Note

   A regular plural that does a great deal of work, because every noun meaning of bond takes it: government bonds and debentures, the ties of friendship, and the cords or bands that physically bind. That last meaning already leans toward the plural, since people break their bonds more often than a bond. Context, not form, tells these apart, and the captivity meaning exists only in this plural shape.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of bond.

   This adhesive bonds metal to glass within minutes.

   She bonds quickly with new coworkers wherever she goes.

   Note

   Its grammar changes with its meaning. When the subject is glue, a chemical, or an importer, it takes a direct object: the resin bonds wood to steel, the firm bonds the shipment. The friendship meaning takes no object and reaches for with instead, as in she bonds with new coworkers. It is spelled the same as the noun plural, and only the sentence around it tells the two apart.

3. 3
   nounplural

   The state of being held captive or imprisoned, especially when kept in chains or confinement.

   Like invisible chains that keep a person from walking free.

   The captives finally broke free of their bonds after the long siege ended.

   He languished in bonds for a decade before the new king pardoned him.

   Similarchains, shackles, fetters, captivity

   Oppositefreedom, liberty

   Note

   Captivity named by its instruments: the chains and cords that hold a prisoner stand for the state of being held. It exists only in the plural, so one is in bonds, never in a bond, and it usually follows the preposition in, as in languish in bonds or lie in bonds. Breaking free of one's bonds can be literal or figurative, and the sentence decides which.

4. 4
   nounplural

   The status of imported goods kept in a customs-controlled warehouse until the required duty has been paid.

   Like a layaway item the store keeps until you finish paying: the goods exist but can't be released until the bill is settled.

   The importer left the wine in bonds for several months to delay paying duty.

   Customs officers confirmed that the crates remained in bonds while the paperwork was processed.

   Note

   A customs term built around the warehouse. Imported goods held there under duty are said to be in bonds, and the phrase almost always comes with in: kept in bonds, remained in bonds. It has no singular. The verb form is its working partner, because an importer bonds a shipment by placing it in the warehouse until the duty is settled.

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