bond
bond — noun
1. a strong feeling or shared understanding that keeps people close to each other.
a strong feeling or shared understanding that keeps people close to each other.
Years of night shifts created a bond between the two nurses.
bond between + people
After the flood, neighbors felt a stronger bond with one another.
bond with + people after shared hardship
Cooking together every Sunday strengthened the bond in the Kim family.
Shared jokes helped the new teammates form a bond at camp.
form a bond
- close bond
- strong bond
- bond between friends
- form a bond
- connection
broader and more neutral; can be personal, social, or factual
- tie
common for family, business, or national relationships
- attachment
more emotional and sometimes one-sided
Grammar Patterns
a bond between people
a bond with someone
Usage Note
Usually appears with between, with, or over shared experiences. Distinguish from noun/7, which stresses restraint rather than closeness.
Common Mistakes
2. a document showing that you lent money to a government or company and they must
a document showing that you lent money to a government or company and they must repay it with interest.
Grandpa bought government bonds to save for his grandchildren.
government bonds
The company sold bonds to raise money for a new bridge.
sell bonds to raise money
Many small investors prefer bonds when stock prices jump wildly.
Our bank adviser explained when the bond would pay interest.
bond pays interest
- government bond
- company bond
- buy bonds
- bond interest
Grammar Patterns
buy bonds
sell bonds
Usage Note
Often modified by government, company, savings, or municipal. Distinguish from noun/3: this sense is an investment, not just any written promise.
Common Mistakes
3. an official written promise that someone will do something or accept a duty.
an official written promise that someone will do something or accept a duty.
Each builder signed a bond to finish the school on time.
sign a bond
The city required a bond before work began on the tunnel.
require a bond
Without the bond, the repair company could leave the job unfinished.
The printed bond promised payment if the roof leaked again.
bond promising payment
- sign a bond
- written bond
- bond requirement
- performance bond
Grammar Patterns
sign a bond
require a bond
Usage Note
Common in legal and business settings. Distinguish from noun/4, which is specifically tied to release before trial.
4. money or a formal promise used to secure a person's release until they return to
money or a formal promise used to secure a person's release until they return to court.
The judge set bond at fifty thousand dollars after the hearing.
set bond at + amount
Ravi's aunt paid the bond so he could go home.
pay the bond
Missing court would make the family lose the bond.
Reporters waited outside until lawyers posted bond for the singer.
post bond
- set bond
- pay bond
- post bond
- bond hearing
- detention
keeps the person in custody instead of releasing them
Grammar Patterns
set bond at an amount
post bond
Usage Note
Common verbs are set, pay, and post. In American legal English, bond may refer to the money or the formal guarantee behind release.
5. the place or line where two parts meet after they have been fixed with glue or a
the place or line where two parts meet after they have been fixed with glue or another substance.
A crack appeared along the bond between the two tiles.
bond between + surfaces
Check the bond before you hang the mirror on the wall.
check the bond
Heat weakened the bond holding the label to the bottle.
bond holding one surface to another
The carpenter tested each bond after the glue had dried.
- strong bond
- glue bond
- bond between layers
- test the bond
- separation
describes the parts coming apart
Grammar Patterns
the bond between surfaces
check the bond
Usage Note
Usually used for surfaces, layers, tiles, labels, or pieces of wood. Distinguish from verb/1, which names the action of joining the materials.
6. the force that makes atoms stay joined as part of the same substance.
the force that makes atoms stay joined as part of the same substance.
A strong bond holds the two hydrogen atoms close together.
bond between atoms
Breaking the bond releases energy during the reaction.
break a bond
In water, each oxygen atom forms bonds with hydrogen atoms.
The chart shows how the bond changes when the metal heats up.
bond changes during heating
- chemical bond
- covalent bond
- ionic bond
- break a bond
- attractive force
broader scientific wording for the force drawing particles together
- chemical link
simpler explanatory phrase, not a strict technical term
- repulsion
pushes particles apart instead of holding them together
Grammar Patterns
a bond between atoms
break a bond
Usage Note
Used in science writing with types such as ionic, covalent, and metallic. Subject matter is atoms, molecules, or crystals rather than people or objects.
7. ropes, chains, or another force that keeps someone from being free.
ropes, chains, or another force that keeps someone from being free.
The prisoner's bonds cut into his wrists during the long walk.
plural bonds for ropes or chains
Debt became a bond that kept the farmer on the land.
figurative singular use
At the locked gate, Hana called marriage a bond she could not break.
Years of fear were bonds that kept the village women silent.
figurative plural use
- break your bonds
- escape your bonds
- bonds of fear
- bonds of duty
Grammar Patterns
break your bonds
bonds of fear
Usage Note
Often plural when meaning actual ropes or chains. Singular bond is more common in figurative use for something that limits freedom.
This means that a person always keeps their promises and can be trusted completely.
When Tom says he'll help, his word is his bond.
Do you trust that your word is your bond with your friends?
bond — verb
1. to make two materials hold together, especially with glue, or to become fixed to
to make two materials hold together, especially with glue, or to become fixed together in that way.
The dentist bonded the small chip on my front tooth.
bond + object in repair contexts
These tiles bond well if the wall is clean and dry.
intransitive: materials bond well
Workers bonded the plastic sheet to the wooden frame.
bond + object + to
The two layers did not bond because rain hit the glue.
negative intransitive use
- bond to
- bond together
- bond firmly
- bond well
Grammar Patterns
bond something to something
bond together
Usage Note
Object is usually a surface or material, and the second surface often follows with to. Distinguish from verb/2, which is about relationships, not glue or materials.
Common Mistakes
2. to grow close to someone through shared time or experience, or to help other peo
to grow close to someone through shared time or experience, or to help other people become close.
The new students bonded over late-night card games in the dorm.
bond over + shared activity
Camping in the rain bonded the rescue team quickly.
shared experience as subject
Omar bonded with his host father during morning fishing trips.
bond with + person
The coach used cooking lessons to bond the players.
bond + group
- bond with
- bond over
- bond quickly
- bond a team
Grammar Patterns
bond with someone
bond over something
bond people together
Usage Note
Intransitive use usually takes with or over; transitive use means causing a group to feel closer. Distinguish from noun/1, which names the relationship after it has formed.
Common Mistakes
3. to keep atoms joined by a chemical force, or to stay joined in that way.
to keep atoms joined by a chemical force, or to stay joined in that way.
Oxygen bonds with iron when the nail rusts in rain.
bond with + element
In this salt, sodium and chlorine bond tightly.
intransitive chemistry use
Heat can stop the atoms from bonding in the right shape.
bonding after stop + object + from
The diagram shows how carbon atoms bond to one another.
bond to one another
- bond with
- bond tightly
- atoms bond
- bond together
- split
separate into parts
- break apart
plain phrase for losing the chemical join
Grammar Patterns
atoms bond with atoms
bond atoms together
Usage Note
Usually used about atoms, elements, or molecules. Outside science, use verb/1 for physical sticking and verb/2 for human relationships.
bond — adjective
1. kept as a slave and not free to live by your own choices.
kept as a slave and not free to live by your own choices.
The museum displays tools used in bond labor on the island.
bond labor
Tax records counted women and children doing bond labor on the farm.
bond labor
A bond woman hid letters beneath the kitchen floor.
bond woman
The play shows one bond man planning his escape at night.
bond man
- bond labor
- bond woman
- bond man
- bond worker
Grammar Patterns
bond + noun
Usage Note
Mostly historical or literary, especially in phrases like bond woman, bond man, and bond labor.
Word family
- bindverbB2
- bondingnounB2
- bondedadjectiveC1
- bondholdernounC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
For noun/1, bond, connection, tie, link, and attachment all describe ways people or things are joined, but they are not used in the same way. Bond usually suggests a strong emotional force or duty that keeps people close over time. Connection is broader and more neutral, and it can describe facts, networks, or brief contact. Tie often points to family, business, or political relationships, and it is very common in the plural. Link focuses on one joining point between two sides rather than deep feeling. Attachment is more personal and emotional, sometimes even one-sided. You can say Theo felt a deep bond with his coach, but a news report would more likely mention business ties or a link between two events.
Etymology
Bond comes from early Germanic words for something that ties, fastens, or holds. English took it through Old Norse and Middle English forms related to bind. The oldest idea is a physical tie or restraint, and later the word widened to cover emotional closeness, legal promises, and financial papers that bind someone to pay.