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 tie; a link: the bonds of friendship, the familial bond.

4. A binding agreement; a covenant.

5. A duty, a promise, or another obligation by which one is bound.

6. a. A substance or an 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. An overlapping arrangement of bricks or other masonry components in a wall.

9. Law. a. A written and sealed obligation, especially one requiring payment of a stipulated amount of money on or before a given day. b. A sum of money paid as bail or surety. c. A bail bondsman.

10. A certificate of debt issued by a government or corporation guaranteeing payment of the original investment plus interest by a specified future date.

11. The condition of taxable goods being stored in a warehouse until the taxes or duties owed on them are paid.

12. An insurance contract in which an agency guarantees payment to an employer in the event of unforeseen financial loss through the actions of an employee.

13. Bond paper.

1. To mortgage or place a guaranteed bond on.

2. To furnish bond or surety for.

3. To place (an employee, for example) under bond or guarantee.

4. To join securely, as with glue or cement.

5. To join (two or more individuals) in or as if in a nurturing relationship: "What bonded [the two men]who spoke rarely and have little personal rapportwas patience and a conviction that uncontrolled inflation endangers . . . society" (Robert J. Samuelson).

6. To lay (bricks, for example) in an overlapping pattern for solidity.

1. To cohere with or as if with a bond.

2. To form a close personal relationship.