band
band — verb
1. to add a ring, strip, or narrow edge around something so it is held together, ma
to add a ring, strip, or narrow edge around something so it is held together, marked, or given a border.
The park team banded each duck before it flew south for winter.
band + animal for identification
Workers banded the newspapers together with string for the morning delivery.
band + objects together
The jeweler banded the bowl with a narrow silver rim.
band + object with decorative edge
At the lab, each baby bird was banded before the health check.
passive: be banded for tracking
Before noon, the florist banded tulips with paper for waiting customers.
- band a bird
- band ducks for tracking
- band boxes together
- band with string
- band the rim
Grammar Patterns
band + [object]
band + [objects] together
be banded for identification
Usage Note
Often used for birds or farm animals that receive a small ring for tracking. With objects, it usually means tying them together or adding a narrow decorative border.
Common Mistakes
band — noun
1. a set of musicians who regularly make pop or other modern music as one performin
a set of musicians who regularly make pop or other modern music as one performing group.
My brother plays drums in a garage band with three close friends.
garage band for modern music
The band practised in Tina's garage before the summer festival.
the band + practise
After one popular song, the band played in small towns across Taiwan.
We heard a new band playing live outside the night market.
band playing live
- garage band
- rock band
- start a band
- play in a band
- live band
- solo act
one performer rather than a full group.
Grammar Patterns
play in a band
start a band
the band + perform/practise
Usage Note
Usually names a regular performing group, not just any people making music once. Distinguish from sense 6: this sense covers pop or modern groups broadly, not specifically brass and percussion players.
Common Mistakes
2. a young pop group whose members sing the songs and perform dance moves together
a young pop group whose members sing the songs and perform dance moves together on stage.
Aya hopes to join a band that sings and dances on TV.
band + sings and dances
The manager trained the band in dance steps before their first single.
band + dance steps
Fans waved light sticks as the five-member band opened the show.
member count + band
Each band member changed jackets before the dance break in the last song.
band member
- band member
- boy band
- girl band
- dance routine
- first single
- pop group
a broader term that does not always suggest dancing.
- idol group
often used when image, training, and stage routine are central.
- solo singer
one singer performing alone instead of as part of a matched group.
Grammar Patterns
join a band
band member
the band + sing/dance
Usage Note
Common when dance is part of the performance and the members are presented as a matched pop act. Distinguish from sense 1: here the stage image and group dancing are central.
3. a narrow piece that goes round something to hold it, support it, or decorate it,
a narrow piece that goes round something to hold it, support it, or decorate it, or a long stripe that stands out in colour or light.
A red band held the papers together inside the kitchen drawer.
band around objects
The nurse wrapped a soft band around Leo's injured ankle.
band around body part
The plate has a blue band around the edge.
decorative band around edge
A bright band of light shone under the door all night.
band of light
Dark bands of cloud moved over the hills before sunset.
bands of cloud
- elastic band
- metal band
- band around the edge
- band of light
- dark band
Grammar Patterns
a band around [something]
a band of colour/light/cloud
Usage Note
With the physical-object meaning, 'band' often follows words for elastic, metal, or cloth. With the stripe meaning, it commonly appears in 'a band of' plus colour, light, cloud, or another visible feature.
Common Mistakes
4. a section on a scale where numbers, prices, ages, or other measured amounts fall
a section on a scale where numbers, prices, ages, or other measured amounts fall.
Tickets in the lowest price band sold out before noon.
price band
Children in the eight-to-ten age band can enter the race.
age band
Most flats in this tax band paid less after the city cut rates.
tax band
At City Hall, staff compared spending across every income band.
income band
- price band
- age band
- tax band
- income band
- within the band
Grammar Patterns
in the [price/age/tax] band
within a band
Usage Note
Common in official or statistical language, especially with prices, ages, incomes, and taxes. Distinguish from sense 7: this sense is any measured interval, not a radio-wave range.
Common Mistakes
5. people gathered around the same aim, belief, interest, or task.
people gathered around the same aim, belief, interest, or task.
A small band of parents cleaned the beach every Saturday morning.
a band of + people with a shared aim
The novel follows a band of rebels crossing the snowy mountains.
a band of rebels
A band of bird lovers met at dawn near the lake.
a band of + people with shared interests
During the flood, a band of neighbours cooked meals for older residents.
- a band of rebels
- a band of volunteers
- a band of friends
- a band of parents
- individual
one person acting alone rather than as part of a group.
Grammar Patterns
a band of + plural noun
Usage Note
Often appears as "a band of" plus a plural noun, and can sound a little literary compared with the ordinary word "group". Distinguish from senses 8 and 9: this sense is any purpose-based or interest-based set of people, not a specific Indigenous social or government unit.
6. a music group made up mainly of brass players and drummers, often for marches or
a music group made up mainly of brass players and drummers, often for marches or public events.
The town band led the parade down King Street this morning.
town band leading a parade
Children cheered as the band played trumpets and drums in the park.
brass and percussion instruments in context
Her son joined the school band and learned the trombone.
school band as a learner setting
At noon, the army band performed outside the palace gates.
army band at a public ceremony
- school band
- army band
- town band
- lead a parade
- play a march
- brass band
the closest match; this exact term is often preferred.
- marching band
used when the musicians play while moving, often in parades or at sports events.
- ensemble
a broader music word that does not specifically suggest brass and drums.
Grammar Patterns
school band
army band
town band
Usage Note
Usually linked with schools, parades, town events, or the military. Distinguish from senses 1 and 2, which cover modern popular-music groups rather than mainly instrumental ones.
Common Mistakes
7. a section of radio frequencies used for sending a particular kind of signal.
a section of radio frequencies used for sending a particular kind of signal.
City police radios use a different band from the taxis waiting outside.
separate radio services using different bands
This old phone cannot connect on the new 5G band.
technology label before band
At dawn, engineers tested each band before the local station started broadcasting.
The airport weather radar works in a higher band than the cafe Wi-Fi.
higher band in technical comparison
- FM band
- 5G band
- weather band
- separate band
- frequency band
the full technical phrase for this sense.
- waveband
a more technical alternative, especially in science writing.
- spectrum segment
explains the idea, but is less common as an everyday label.
Grammar Patterns
FM band
5G band
weather band
Usage Note
Usually modified by a letter, number, or purpose label, such as "FM band" or "weather band". Distinguish from sense 4: that sense is any range of values, while this one is specifically part of the radio spectrum.
Common Mistakes
8. one smaller Indigenous group in North America, linked by family ties and belongi
one smaller Indigenous group in North America, linked by family ties and belonging to a wider people.
The museum map placed the Bear River band within the wider nation.
band within a larger nation
Elders from one Ojibwe band met related families at the summer gathering.
elders from the band
The teacher explained that the Bear River band was one branch of the nation.
branch of the nation
At the museum, a map marked the hunting land used by each band.
each band
- band elders
- each band
- larger nation
- band land
Grammar Patterns
the band
a band within a larger nation
Usage Note
Commonest in historical, legal, or museum writing about Indigenous peoples in North America. When the specific nation name is known, that more exact name is often preferred in modern use.
9. in Canada, a First Nations community that the law recognizes as a local governin
in Canada, a First Nations community that the law recognizes as a local governing body.
Leaders from the Willow Lake Band met federal officials in Ottawa on Tuesday.
the [name] Band as an official body
The Willow Lake Band council voted to build a new health centre.
band acting as a governing body
Under the treaty, each band receives school funding through its own council.
each band in legal or public funding context
Otto works for a band office in northern Ontario.
collocation: band office
- band office
- band land
- band leaders
- member of a band
- First Nation
broader and now more common; it may refer to the people or community, not only the legal unit.
- tribal government
describes the governing function, but is less exact as a Canadian legal term.
- community
broader; it does not by itself imply official governing status.
Grammar Patterns
the [name] Band
band office
band land
Usage Note
In Canadian English, this sense often appears in official names with a capital letter. Distinguish from sense 8: that sense is the people or kin group, while this one is the recognized governing unit.
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
For noun/1, band is the everyday word for a set of people who play modern or popular music together. Group is even broader and is common in pop, especially when singing is more important than instruments. Combo is informal and often suggests a smaller jazz or bar act. Ensemble sounds more formal and is often used for theatre, classical, or mixed performers rather than a standard rock band. Orchestra is narrower still: it usually means a larger, more structured classical body, often with strings. So you can talk about a garage band, a pop group, a jazz combo, or a theatre ensemble, but band stays the most natural default for modern music acts.
Common collocations
Prepositions
- band of
Etymology
Modern English band brings together two close historical lines. One gave the idea of something that ties, circles, or holds, from older Germanic words related to bind and seen in Old Norse forms. Another came through French forms used for a strip or a troop. Because these lines were close in both sound and meaning, they merged in English. That is why band can name a ring or stripe, a body of people joined for a purpose, and later a musical group. Technical uses such as frequency band grew from the older idea of a marked strip or range.