binding

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Imposing stipulations or requirements that must be honoured.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

bynding

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbaɪndɪŋ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

of an agreementcontractetc.
Imposing stipulations or requirements that must be honoured.
of food
Having the effect of counteracting diarrhea.

noun

An item (usually rope, tape, or string) used to hold two or more things together.
The spine of a book where the pages are held together.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A2 · Elementary
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (of an agreement, contract, etc.) Imposing stipulations or requirements that must be honoured.

Used this way, binding is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in law or legal contexts.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

Law/legal

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Attract

binding energybinding capacity

Other combinations

binding proteinlegally bindingbinding sitebinding forcebinding domain

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

bindverbBase word
Stick to firmly.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

bindernounPerson or profession · specialist
A machine that cuts grain and binds it in sheaves.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

binding energynounCompound term
The energy required to separate particles from a molecule or atom or nucleus.
book bindingnounCompound term
The protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a book.
half bindingnounCompound term
Book binding in which the spine and part of the sides are bound in one material and the rest in another.
ski bindingnounCompound term
One of a pair of mechanical devices that are attached to a ski and that will grip a ski boot.
three-quarter bindingnounCompound term
The spine and much of the sides are a different material from the rest of the cover.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.