bind
68
6.5
- noun
- /baɪnd/
- Informal
:
apuro
- You put yourself in a bind because you know what I have to do.
- a double bind
- a classic double bind
So women end up facing this bind that men don't.
- So women end up facing this bind that men don't.
- That's how I've always gotten out of the bind in the past.
- So he's saying basically, Christ, you've caught yourself in kind of a bind.
- But I do know that whatever engaged in that attack put Israel in a bind.
- I remember one particularly narcissistic person who was caught in a bind.
- That leaves women in the most extraordinary bind.
- Some of that advertising works and we're just caught in a bind trying to communicate what we find in our studies.
Examples
-
I know you and Frank are in a bind, so I'll start Monday.
Fiction book (2002) -
Several employees are in a serious bind after the unexpected layoffs.
-
It's a very, very, very hard bind to get out of, but maybe she can do it.
-
You see the bind we're in.
-
I was in a little bind and I had to take him with me on some business.
-
If you two are in a bind, I'd be more than happy to help.
-
Now that we have dug ourselves into this bind, what might we do about it?
Academic text (1994) -
I'm in a bind, Nate.
-
I'm in a bind right now with Hunsecker.
-
I'm in a bind.
Synonyms
∞
1.2
A situation that causes trouble and needs a solution
98
6.5
A difficult situation that is hard to get out of
81
5.8
A difficult or embarrassing situation that is hard to escape
25
7.9
A difficult situation that is hard to escape or solve
14
6.7
In trouble and needing help to fix a problem
5
8.1
A difficult situation that is hard to escape
4
3.7
A difficult situation that is hard to deal with
A difficult problem that is hard to solve
A difficult problem with no easy solution
A difficult time when someone has little money or many problems
A difficult problem that needs careful handling
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Specialized
2
8.1
A situation where you are given two conflicting demands you cannot satisfy, often from someone in charge
How Difficult
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bind (noun) comes from an old English idea of being 'tied' or stuck, the same root behind words like band and bond. So being 'in a bind' is like being tied up and unable to move, meaning a difficult situation.