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bond (bŏnd) Share: Tweet n. 1. Something, such as a fetter, cord, or band, that binds, ties, or fastens things together. 2. often bonds Confinement in prison; captivity. 3. A uniting force or relationship; a link: the familial bond. 4. A binding agreement; a covenant. 5. A duty, promise, or other obligation by which one is bound. 6. a. A substance or agent that causes two or more objects or parts to cohere. b. The union or cohesion brought about by such a substance or agent. 7. A chemical bond. 8. A systematically overlapping or alternating arrangement of bricks or stones in a wall, designed to increase strength and stability. 9. A written obligation requiring the payment of a sum at a certain time. 10. A debt security obligating a government or corporation to pay a specified amount on a future date, especially a marketable security that makes semiannual interest payments. 11. a. A guarantee issued by a surety agency on behalf of a client, requiring the surety to pay a sum of money to a third party in the event the client fails to fulfill certain obligations; a surety bond. b. A sum pledged as a guarantee. 12. A sum paid as a guarantee of a person's appearance at court for trial; bail: set bond at $100,000; released the prisoner on a $10,000 bond. 13. The condition of being held under the guarantee of a customs bond: imported merchandise stored in bond. 14. An insurance contract that indemnifies an employer for loss resulting from a fraudulent or dishonest act by an employee; a fidelity bond. 15. Bond paper. v. bond·ed, bond·ing, bonds v. tr. 1. To join securely, as with glue or cement. 2. To join (two or more individuals) in a relationship, as by shared belief or experience: An interest in banking reform bonded the two political opponents. 3. a. To finance by issuing bonds: Two projects have already been bonded. b. To raise by issuing bonds: The city bonded $900,000 for the new park. 4. To gain the release of (someone who has been arrested) by providing a bail bond: bonded his cousin out of jail. 5. To issue a surety bond or a fidelity bond for. 6. To lay (bricks or stones) in an overlapping or alternating pattern. v. intr. 1. To cohere with a bond. 2. To form a close personal relationship. 3. To secure release from prison by providing a bail bond: The accused bonded out of jail. [Middle English, variant of band, from Old Norse; see bhendh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] bonda·bili·ty n. bonda·ble adj. bonder n. (click for a larger image) bond Flemish pattern

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

Bond (bŏnd), Julian 1940-2015. Share: Tweet American politician and civil rights leader who was elected to the Georgia legislature (1966) but temporarily barred from taking office because of his opposition to the Vietnam War.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

# Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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