bound1
/baʊnd
/verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
1Walk or run with leaping strides: Louis came bounding down the stairs figurative shares bounded ahead in early dealing...
- Sally bounded up to him when he walked into the building alone the next morning.
- We do not know who won the high jump or the triple jump except that a couple of Swedes have gone bounding down the track in delight.
- Valentine sensed the relaxed atmosphere and bounded up to Aimée, jumping up on her.
Synonyms
leap, jump, spring, bounce, hop, vault, hurdle;
skip, bob, dance, prance, romp, caper, cavort, sport, frisk, frolic, gambol, gallop, hurtle
rare curvet, rollick, capriole
1.1(Of an object) rebound from a surface: bullets bounded off the veranda...
- Painter Henri Matisse had rooms overlooking the market, and you could see where he got his inspiration as the sunlight bounded off ochre walls in these tall, narrow streets.
- The ball bounded off the wall and Jeter went into second standing up.
- I didn't glance up from my plate until a roll bounded off the side of my head.
noun
A leaping movement towards or over something: I went up the steps in two effortless bounds...
- Water was run across, buildings were leapt in a single bound, swords made appropriately dramatic sounds as they were sliced through the air.
- But only recently have videogames started making leaps and bounds towards a unified interactive product.
- In a single bound, he leaped over a Texas blocker to force a game-sealing interception earlier this year.
Synonyms
leap, jump, spring, bounce, hop, vault, hurdle
rare curvet, capriole
Origin
Early 16th century (as a noun): from French bond (noun), bondir (verb) 'resound', later 'rebound', from late Latin bombitare, from Latin bombus 'humming'.
The word bound meaning to ‘leap’ and rebound (Late Middle English) are from French bondir ‘resound’, later ‘rebound’, which went back to Latin bombus ‘humming’, and is thus related to bomb. When a man is described as a bounder there is a connection with the slang term bounder for a four-wheeled cab (mid 19th century) which ‘bounded’ over rough roads causing discomfort. Bound (Middle English) in the sense boundary (early 17th century) is also from French but its ultimate history is unknown. Bound (Middle English) in the sense of ‘bound for, heading towards’ is from an Old Norse word; while bound (Late Middle English) in the sense of ‘under an obligation’ as in duty bound is simply a past form of bind.
Rhymes
bound2
/baʊnd/noun (often bounds)
1A territorial limit; a boundary: the ancient bounds of the forest...
- We elves patrol throughout the Black Wood, and well into the bounds of the ancient elf kingdom, including the Marshes where you are from.
- I do not need to take it any further than to merely say there is a broad power and it can operate beyond the bounds of the Territory.
- The bounds of the territorium, described topographically, match the present Llangors parish.
Synonyms
borders, boundaries, confines, limits, outer limits, extremities, margins, edges, fringes, marches;
periphery, perimeter, circumference, compass, precinct, pale
1.1A limitation or restriction on feeling or action: it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the issue could arise again enthusiasm to join the union knew no bounds...
- My only limits are the bounds of good taste, what I consider good taste.
- His ambition for approbation sets bounds and limits to his ambition, so to speak.
- By contrast, hoarding of a non-monetary commodity is kept within bounds by declining marginal utility.
Synonyms
limits, confines, restrictions, limitations, demarcations, proportions
1.2 technical A limiting value: an upper bound on each modulus...
- For example, the usual definition of least upper bound is impredicative, since it characterizes a number in terms of a collection of upper bounds, and the defined number is a member of that collection.
- Schofield and then McKelvey and Schofield obtained some bounds on k values.
- Researchers can therefore use calibrated and uncalibrated models to provide upper and lower bounds to capture true values.
verb [with object]
1Form the boundary of; enclose: the ground was bounded by a main road on one side and a meadow on the other...
- Oval in plan, the enclosure is bounded by a single stone wall 2.7 m. thick.
- It is 120 feet long and 45 feet wide, is enclosed by cut stone granite walls and bounded by mature trees.
- The site is bounded by fencing, hedges and trees, and fences divide most of the plots.
Synonyms
enclose, surround, encircle, circle, ring, circumscribe, border;
hedge in, wall in, fence in, close in, hem in, lock in, cut off
1.1Place within certain limits; restrict: freedom of action is bounded by law...
- The only legitimate and productive political action must be bounded by the limits of the status quo and the Democrats who protect it.
- In terms of the product continuum, they have enabled users to personalise their trainers, creating designs and patterns within a tightly bounded shoe design.
- Symphonic music was, and still is, bounded only by the limits of the imagination.
Synonyms
limit, restrict, confine, cramp, straiten, restrain, circumscribe, demarcate, delimit, define
Phrases
in bounds
out of bounds
Origin
Middle English (in the senses 'landmark' and 'borderland'): from Old French bodne, from medieval Latin bodina, earlier butina, of unknown ultimate origin.
bound3
/baʊnd/adjective
1Going or ready to go towards a specified place: an express train bound for Edinburgh [in combination]: the three moon-bound astronauts...
- That where he is bound come April 5, when he will attempt to better his brave fourth place in last year's National.
- Much to my delight, the traffic was heading in the other direction and I had the northern bound freeway to myself.
- But how many minutes will the bench - bound Italian with the stylised facial hair play against the Koreans?
1.1Destined or very likely to have a specified experience: they were bound for disaster...
- While these students are likely not bound for careers in music, they are the future core of the volunteer choir, the town band and the community orchestra.
- Although we can see that it is bound for failure, it is fascinating to follow its journey.
- Any attempt at explaining higher meanings to be derived from Judo is bound for failure.
Origin
Middle English boun (in the sense 'ready, dressed'), from Old Norse búinn, past participle of búa 'get ready'; the final -d is euphonic, or influenced by bound4.
bound4
/baʊnd/verb
past and past participle of bind.
adjective
1 [in combination] Restricted or confined to a specified place: his job kept him city-bound
1.1Prevented from operating normally by the specified conditions: blizzard-bound Boston...
- Traditionally, they are duty bound to defer to the wishes of their parents.
- Then you're duty bound to do the right thing so you just do what you're told and get on with it.
- The Department was duty bound to protect the interests of the members who had contributed to this amount.
2 [with infinitive] Certain to be or to do or have something: there is bound to be a change of plan
Synonyms
certain, sure, very likely, guaranteed, destined, predestined, fated
British informal nailed on
2.1Obliged by law, circumstances, or duty to do something: I’m bound to do what I can to help Sam I’m bound to say that I have some doubts
Synonyms
obligated, obliged, under obligation, compelled, required, duty-bound, honour-bound, constrained;
pledged, committed
3 [in combination] (Of a book) having a specified binding: fine leather-bound books
4(Of a grammatical element) occurring only in combination with another form.And that left a lot of people feeling anxiously that they were never allowed to use ‘they’ as a bound pronoun even when they needed to....
- Not only this, but word formation in English, generally, consists in the addition of a bound affix to the end of a stem, with the affix functioning as the head of the complex form.
- Pidginization can entail loss of all bound morphology, many free grammatical morphemes, and even a large part of the vocabulary.
4.1In Chomskyan linguistics, (of a reflexive, reciprocal, or other linguistic unit) dependent for its reference on another noun phrase in the same sentence.Long-distance reflexivization refers to the phenomenon whereby a reflexive can be bound outside its local domain....
- All nouns are bound by referents, and it is healthier to one's linguistic development to keep things less solid and grounded.
- Thus, the pronouns in both conditional and relative clause donkey sentences cannot be understood as referring expressions nor as bound variables.
Phrases
bound up in
bound up with (or in)
I'll be bound