verb

bind

BYND

verb

To tie, fasten, or hold something together tightly, using rope, cord, a band, or similar.

"She bound the loose papers together with string."

"The rope was used to bind the fence posts in place."

To hold someone under a legal, moral, or promised obligation.

"The contract binds both parties to a five-year term."

"He felt bound by his promise to help."

In computing, to link or associate a name, variable, or module with a value or piece of code.

"The variable is bound to a value when the function runs."

noun

A difficult or awkward situation with no easy way out.

"We're in a real bind now that the flight's cancelled."

How to Use Bind

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo tie things together, or to hold someone to an obligation or rule.

Common mistake

Don't confuse the noun sense "a bind" (a tricky situation) with "bound" (the past tense) — "I was bound by contract" is correct, not "I was binded."

Common pairings

bind together legally bound bind a wound in a bind

bound past tense, binded past tense, bounden past tense, ybounden past tense, ybound past tense, binds plural, binds singular

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Test yourself on “bind” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Can you complete this real example?

The rope was used to _____ the fence posts in place.

From Old English bindan, going back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "to tie" — the same root gives us "bandana" and "band."

Ind mind kind find wind rind lind hind grind blind rewind unwind