bounds 1 of 4

noun (1)

plural of bound
1
as in limits
a real or imaginary point beyond which a person or thing cannot go the language in the novel really is beyond the bounds of decency

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in confines
the line or relatively narrow space that marks the outer limit of something colored outside the bounds of the drawing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bounds

2 of 4

noun (2)

plural of bound
as in leaps
an act of leaping into the air the kangaroo took one giant bound and was gone

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bounds

3 of 4

verb (1)

present tense third-person singular of bound
1
as in defines
to mark the limits of the country is bounded by water on two sides

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2
as in borders
to serve as a border for being bounded on all sides by the Alps has helped Switzerland maintain its neutrality

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bounds

4 of 4

verb (2)

present tense third-person singular of bound
1
as in hops
to move with a light springing step the child giggled and bounded off to play with her friends

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in jumps
to propel oneself upward or forward into the air a rabbit bounded down the garden path

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bounds
Noun
They are discovered well beyond the bounds of the strategic map, where the winds shift, the old answers sink, and the pilot must find the way by dead reckoning. — Jeff Degraff, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026 If the sound engineer messes up, that’s somebody not putting numbers on the board, or passing the ball out of bounds. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2026 In its ruling, the appellate court held the law to be within constitutional bounds. — Gray Rohrer, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026 Mayor Robert Harrington referred the worker conditions issue to a council committee for more discussion on what Charlotte can do within the bounds of the law. — Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2026 Thus far, the bus behavior lies beyond the bounds of Waymo’s safety metrics. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026 Hurts then connected with Makai Lemon for a 7-yard gain on second down but the rookie receiver went out of bounds instead of going down, which stopped the clock and saved Jacksonville’s timeout. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 Watson made the catch on top of the Bears defender’s head and stayed in bounds. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 In his affidavit, Thomson said the nearby suburbs were out of bounds. — David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
Throughout the event, a guy bounds around, introducing the recordists, then crouching to cue their recordings on a laptop, his dark, longish hair under a black dad cap bearing the club’s name. — Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026 With the sprightly energy of a schoolboy, Jean-Paul Doron bounds into an empty creek, his red suede shoes scraping pale rocks. — Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Aug. 2026 Over a century later, the Himalayan blackberry has spread far beyond the modest backyard bounds its importers envisioned, opting instead to take over indiscriminately and displace the native trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus) in the process. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 25 June 2026 Oprah Winfrey bounds into view in a white dress. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 9 June 2026 Something as simple as adding a tablespoon of fresh ground flax or chia seeds to a smoothie can do leaps and bounds improvement in the microbiome itself. — Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS News, 24 May 2026 Sister typically bounds around on their walks, but Bowen said the tiny dog kept sitting still on the road. — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2026 As Sac State bounds into the 2026 season as a first-time member of the FBS in the Mid-American Conference, Carter said his squad will not lack in effort. — Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 27 Apr. 2026 Her 3-point shooting has jumped leaps and bounds from the early part of her college career. — Matthew Coller, Twin Cities, 12 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bounds
  1. limits
  2. boundaries
  3. leaps
  4. defines
  5. borders
  6. hops
  7. jumps
  8. limitations
Noun
  • Whether lawmakers accept those limits will help determine how much authority the federal government gains over advanced AI systems.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • France, unlike the United States, places strict limits on campaign spending, but money still shapes the broader political ecosystem.
    — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of limits
Noun
  • In the meantime, the boundaries between art-making and performance were breaking down.
    — Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Much of the theory also stems from Belbruno's work on permanent capture into the solar system and weak stability boundaries published in 2024 in the journal Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy.
    — Leonard David, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of boundaries
Noun
  • And the leaps of the people in that book generally came from connecting people more closely to their computers.
    — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Some of these leaps were positive—such as for iron and hemoglobin levels, likely because monthly bleeding stops, Alon says.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of leaps
Verb
  • Here’s what defines it, and where to find it around metro Atlanta.
    — Su-Jit Lin, AJC.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Last but not least, Question 3 asks voters whether to change how the state defines its congressional districts, paving the way for redistricting in the coming years.
    — Renee Anderson, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of defines
Verb
  • The station also reported Saudi strikes in Jawf province, which borders Saudi Arabia.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • More Than a Document Scanner iScanner detects page borders automatically and straightens curved or skewed pages.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of borders
Verb
  • Blanding hops in and out of the truck, grabbing buckets of food scraps from porches and restaurants, piling those scraps into bins in the truck bed and driving them to a composting site.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • For the classy music video, Legend hops behind his Yamaha piano to perform the ethereal track with some help from the Hollywood Cinematic Orchestra, who are suited and booted.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of hops
Verb
  • When the lid loosens, LINE1 jumps around, DNA damage piles up and biological aging speeds up.
    — Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026
  • While these price increases only translate to roughly a few dollars each month, the annual price jumps by a larger margin.
    — Ryley Amond, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of jumps
Noun
  • None of it feels remotely tied to the zeitgeist, instead showing an artist galvanized by their own out-there proclivities and exhilarated by the limitations of whatever ramshackle gear might be lying around a home studio.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Ukraine’s Armed Forces learned about the Starshield terminals’ speed limitations from SpaceX customer support after filing a complaint about operational issues, and SpaceX provided no prior warning, according to the source.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of limitations

Phrases Containing bounds

Browse Nearby Words

boundlessness
bounds
bounteous
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Cite this Entry

“Bounds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bounds. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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