bond Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an electrical force linking atoms
    chemical bond.
  2. noun a certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal
    bond certificate.
  3. noun a connection based on kinship or marriage or common interest
    alliance.
    • the shifting alliances within a large family
    • their friendship constitutes a powerful bond between them
  4. noun (criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial
    bail; bail bond.
    • the judge set bail at $10,000
    • a $10,000 bond was furnished by an alderman
  5. noun a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner)
    trammel; shackle; hamper.
  6. noun a connection that fastens things together
    attachment.
  7. noun a superior quality of strong durable white writing paper; originally made for printing documents
    bond paper.
  8. noun United States civil rights leader who was elected to the legislature in Georgia but was barred from taking his seat because he opposed the Vietnam War (born 1940)
    Julian Bond.
  9. noun British secret operative 007 in novels by Ian Fleming
    James Bond.
  10. noun the property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or the joining of surfaces of different composition
    adhesiveness; adhesion; adherence.
    • the mutual adhesiveness of cells
    • a heated hydraulic press was required for adhesion
  11. verb stick to firmly
    bind; stick to; hold fast; adhere; stick.
    • Will this wallpaper adhere to the wall?
  12. verb create social or emotional ties
    bind; attach; tie.
    • The grandparents want to bond with the child
  13. verb issue bonds on
  14. verb bring together in a common cause or emotion
    draw together; bring together.
    • The death of their child had drawn them together

WordNet

Bond noun
Etymology
The same word as band. Cf. Band, Bend.
Definitions
  1. That which binds, ties, fastens,or confines, or by which anything is fastened or bound, as a cord, chain, etc.; a band; a ligament; a shackle or a manacle.
    Gnawing with my teeth my bonds in sunder, I gained my freedom. Shak.
  2. pl. The state of being bound; imprisonment; captivity, restraint. "This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds." Acts xxvi.
  3. A binding force or influence; a cause of union; a uniting tie; as, the bonds of fellowship.
    A people with whom I have no tie but the common bond of mankind. Burke.
  4. Moral or political duty or obligation.
    I love your majesty According to my bond, nor more nor less. Shak.
  5. (Law) A writing under seal, by which a person binds himself, his heirs, executors, and administrators, to pay a certain sum on or before a future day appointed. This is a single bond. But usually a condition is added, that, if the obligor shall do a certain act, appear at a certain place, conform to certain rules, faithfully perform certain duties, or pay a certain sum of money, on or before a time specified, the obligation shall be void; otherwise it shall remain in full force. If the condition is not performed, the bond becomes forfeited, and the obligor and his heirs are liable to the payment of the whole sum. Bouvier. Wharton.
  6. An instrument (of the nature of the ordinary legal bond) made by a government or a corporation for purpose of borrowing money; as, a government, city, or railway bond.
  7. The state of goods placed in a bonded warehouse till the duties are paid; as, merchandise in bond.
  8. (Arch.) The union or tie of the several stones or bricks forming a wall. The bricks may be arranged for this purpose in several different ways, as in English or block bond (Fig. 1), where one course consists of bricks with their ends toward the face of the wall, called headers, and the next course of bricks with their lengths parallel to the face of the wall, called stretchers; Flemish bond (Fig.2), where each course consists of headers and stretchers alternately, so laid as always to break joints; Cross bond, which differs from the English by the change of the second stretcher line so that its joints come in the middle of the first, and the same position of stretchers comes back every fifth line; Combined cross and English bond, where the inner part of the wall is laid in the one method, the outer in the other.
  9. (Chem.) A unit of chemical attraction; as, oxygen has two bonds of affinity. It is often represented in graphic formulæ by a short line or dash. See Diagram of Benzene nucleus, and Valence. Syn. -- Chains; fetters; captivity; imprisonment.
Bond transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bonded; present participle & verbal noun Bonding
Definitions
  1. To place under the conditions of a bond; to mortgage; to secure the payment of the duties on (goods or merchandise) by giving a bond.
  2. (Arch.) To dispose in building, as the materials of a wall, so as to secure solidity.
Bond noun
Etymology
OE. bond, bonde, peasant, serf, bunda, husband, bouseholder, from Icel. bndi husbandman, for bandi, fr. ba to dwell. See Boor, Husband.
Definitions
  1. A xassal or serf; a slave. Obs. or Archaic
Bond adjective
Definitions
  1. In a state of servitude or slavery; captive.
    By one Spirit are we all baptized .. whether we be Jews or Bentiles, whether we be bond or free. 1 Cor. xii. 13.

Webster 1913