NYT Dictionary

BIND

/ˈbaɪ̯nd/
VerbNounBINDbind · 1 syllableGrade 9

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

To tie; to confine by any ligature.

Etymology

Origin: Old English

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *bindaną Proto-West Germanic *bindan Old English bindan Middle English binden English bind From Middle English binden, from Old English bindan, from Proto-West Germanic *bindan, from Proto-Germanic *bindaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéndʰ-e-ti, from *bʰendʰ- (“to tie”). See also West Frisian bine, Dutch binden, Low German binnen, binden, German binden, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk binde, Faroese, Icelandic, and Swedish binda; also Welsh ben (“cart”), Latin offendīx (“knot, band”), Lithuanian beñdras (“partner”), Albanian bind (“to convince, to awe, to spell”), Ancient Greek πεῖσμα (peîsma, “cable, rope”), Persian بستن (bastan, “to bind”), Sanskrit बन्धति (bándhati). Doublet of bandana.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

fettermake fasttiefastenrestraincurtailbehedgeguardgovernsmother

Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 8 recorded puzzles:

Join the Spelling Bee Community

Get solving strategies, rare word lists, and puzzle tips in your inbox every week.