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. Lori Rosenthal:

   When we prepare our own meals we know exactly what the foods we are eating contain, when dining out, we are leaving the ingredients to the chef or fast food chain.

2. Jon Kabit-Zinn:

   Awareness is not the same as thought. It lies beyond thinking, although it makes no use of thinking, honoring it's value and it's power. Awareness is more like a vessel which can hold and contain our thinking, helping us to see and know our thought as thought rather than getting caught up in them as reality.

3. Benjamin Pohl:

   It's like a portal, a window into the past that you can touch, medieval charters are important not just because of the legal acts they contain, but also for what they can tell us about the society and political culture at the time.

4. Jessica Garay Redmond:

   Things that contain caffeine are definitely going to be less-than-desirable for most people, that's not even just right before bed, but I think depending on a person's caffeine sensitivity, they may need to shut down the caffeine in their day at some point in the afternoon or certainly by dinner time so that they can then have a restful night sleep.

5. Barack Obama:

   If you send police officers into those situations where the drug trade is the primary economy and you say to them basically your job is to contain that and arrest kids and put them in jail when those police officers know [it's not going to fix things], then it's not surprising you end up with a situation of enormous tension between those communities and those police officers.

Images & Illustrations of contain

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