bind

To tie things tightly together or hold them in place with rope, string, or a band.

• Bind the branches with string.
• They bound his hands behind his back.
• A cloth was used to bind the wound.

How to use it: bind something with something (She bound the sticks with rope.)

Similar words: tie, fasten

Opposites: untie, unbind

Common phrases: bind someone’s hands, bind something together, bind with rope

To make someone legally or morally required to obey a rule or keep a promise.

• This agreement binds both parties.
• We are bound by strict rules.
• His promise bound him to keep the secret.

How to use it: be bound by something (We are bound by the contract.); bind someone to do something (The agreement binds him to pay every month.)

Similar words: oblige, obligate

Opposites: release

Common phrases: bind someone legally, bind someone to

To create a close connection between people or things.

• Shared memories bind us together.
• Love bound the family through difficult times.
• A common purpose binds these communities.

How to use it: bind someone to someone/something (Her promise bound her to the group.); bind people/things together (Their shared history binds them together.)

Similar words: unite, connect, link

Opposites: divide, separate

Common phrases: bind people together, bind someone to

To stick together, or make separate parts stick together.

• Eggs bind the ingredients together.
• The mixture will bind as it cools.
• These molecules bind with proteins in the blood.

How to use it: bind with something (The substance binds with water.); bind something together (The sauce binds the ingredients together.)

Similar words: combine, stick

Common phrases: bind ingredients together, bind with something

To join a book’s pages together and put them inside a cover.

• They bind each book by hand.
• The poems were bound in red leather.
• Can you bind these pages into one volume?

How to use it: bind something in something (The book was bound in leather.)

Common phrases: bind a book, bind in leather, bind pages together

To stop moving freely because parts rub against each other or become stuck.

• The machine starts to bind after an hour.
• This gear binds under pressure.
• A bent shaft can make the mechanism bind.

How to use it: bind up (The sewing machine keeps binding up.)

Similar words: jam, stick

Common phrases: bind up, bind under pressure

A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve.

• I am in a bind.
• Losing both jobs put us in a terrible bind.
• Can you help me out of this bind?

How to use it: in a bind (We are in a bind without a car.)

Similar words: difficulty, fix, predicament

Common phrases: in a bind, get into a bind, out of a bind