bind over

verb

To compel someone to do, or abstain from, a particular act.

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Meanings

verbbind over (third-person singular simple present binds over, present participle binding over, simple past and past participle bound over)

present singular third person binds over · participle present binding over · participle past bound over · past bound over

  1. transitivelawTo compel someone to do, or abstain from, a particular act.

    In Middlesex, instead of being tried by jury, hundreds of suspected adulterers were instead bound over by magistrates – in other words, forced to end their alleged relationships, find respectable citizens to post bail for their good behviour, and appear in court to answer for their future conduct.

    2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin, published 2013, page 48
Cite this entry
APA

bind over. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bind%20over

MLA

“bind over.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bind%20over. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bind over,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bind%20over.

Source: bind over on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.