# contain

Pronunciation: say "kuhn-TAYN" /kənˈteɪn/

## Verb

1. To include something as one of its parts or components; in mathematics, to have something as an element or a subset.
   - Simple: To have something as one of its parts, like a book with pictures or a list with names.
   - _The report contains several errors that need correcting._
   - _These documents contain sensitive information about employees._
2. To hold something inside, keeping it enclosed within its boundaries.
   - Simple: To hold something inside, keeping it enclosed.
   - _The reservoir contains enough water to supply the city for months._
   - _Each jar must contain exactly the same amount of jam._
3. To keep something within limits; to restrain or confine it so it does not spread.
   - Simple: To keep something under control so it does not spread or grow.
   - _Officials struggled to contain the spread of the disease._
   - _Strict budgets contained the project's costs throughout the year._
4. To keep a strong emotion under control or prevent it from being openly expressed.
   - Simple: To stop yourself from showing a strong feeling.
   - _He struggled to contain his grief while he gave the eulogy._
   - _Barely containing her laughter, she slipped out of the meeting._

## Verb

5. To restrain one's desires, and in particular to abstain from sexual activity and remain chaste. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To hold back your desires and live without sex.

## Origin

Latin continēre ("to hold or keep together, comprise, contain"), built from con- ("together") and teneō ("to hold"), passed into Old French as contenir and was borrowed from there into Middle English.

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