Definitions for contain
kənˈteɪncon·tain

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. incorporate, contain, comprise(verb)

   include or contain; have as a component

   "A totally new idea is comprised in this paper"; "The record contains many old songs from the 1930's"

2. hold, bear, carry, contain(verb)

   contain or hold; have within

   "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water"

3. control, hold in, hold, contain, check, curb, moderate(verb)

   lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits

   "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"

4. contain(verb)

   be divisible by

   "24 contains 6"

5. contain, take, hold(verb)

   be capable of holding or containing

   "This box won't take all the items"; "The flask holds one gallon"

6. check, turn back, arrest, stop, contain, hold back(verb)

   hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of

   "Arrest the downward trend"; "Check the growth of communism in South East Asia"; "Contain the rebel movement"; "Turn back the tide of communism"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. contain(Verb)

   To hold inside.

2. contain(Verb)

   To include as a part.

3. contain(Verb)

   To limit through restraint.

4. contain(Verb)

   To have as an element.

5. contain(Verb)

   To restrain desire; to live in continence or chastity.

   But if they can not contain, let them marry. uE00097647uE001 1 Cor. vii. 9.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Contain(verb)

   to hold within fixed limits; to comprise; to include; to inclose; to hold

   Etymology: [OE. contenen, conteinen, F. contenir, fr. L. continere, -tentum; con- + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Countenance.]

2. Contain(verb)

   to have capacity for; to be able to hold; to hold; to be equivalent to; as, a bushel contains four pecks

   Etymology: [OE. contenen, conteinen, F. contenir, fr. L. continere, -tentum; con- + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Countenance.]

3. Contain(verb)

   to put constraint upon; to restrain; to confine; to keep within bounds

   Etymology: [OE. contenen, conteinen, F. contenir, fr. L. continere, -tentum; con- + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Countenance.]

4. Contain(verb)

   to restrain desire; to live in continence or chastity

   Etymology: [OE. contenen, conteinen, F. contenir, fr. L. continere, -tentum; con- + tenere to hold. See Tenable, and cf. Countenance.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Contain

   kon-tān′, v.t. to comprise, to include: (B.) to restrain, esp. the sexual appetite.—adj. Contain′able, that may be contained.—ns. Contain′ant, Contain′er. [Through Fr. from L. continēre—con, together, tenēre, to hold.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'contain' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2225

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'contain' in Verbs Frequency: #129

Anagrams for contain »

1. actinon

How to pronounce contain?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say contain in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of contain in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of contain in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of contain in a Sentence

1. Ben Carson Carson:

   I think we ought to take this as a warning that we need to really go in there with very serious intent not to contain them but to take them our completely, to destroy them, to eliminate them. I would use every resource available to us.

2. Paul Dawson:

   It's not a new finding that towels contain bacteria, there's just a wider range of sources of possible bacteria in the kitchen.

3. Elias Canetti:

   When you write down your life, every page should contain something no one has ever heard about.

4. Don Sodora:

   In the typical ways to contain these types of outbreaks, you want to identify the patients very quickly. You want to make sure that people who are feverish and have the disease do not leave an area, the hemorrhagic fever viruses have a number of issues that make them particularly problematic with regard to transmission. They have this initial period when people are infected but don't show symptoms, and that's a problem.

5. Amy Pope:

   The best-case scenario here is that we could either limit local transmission, or get ahead of it and contain it as soon as possible.

Images & Illustrations of contain

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