CONTAIN Definition & Meaning

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contain

[ kuhn-teyn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to hold or include within its volume or area:
This glass contains water.
This paddock contains our best horses.
to be capable of holding; have capacity for:
The room will contain 75 persons safely.
to have as contents content or constituent parts; comprise; include.
Synonyms: ,
to keep under proper control; restrain:
He could not contain his amusement.
to prevent or limit the expansion, influence, success, or advance of (a hostile nation, competitor, opposing force, natural disaster, etc.):
to contain an epidemic.
to succeed in preventing the spread of:
efforts to contain water pollution.
Mathematics. (of a number) to be a multiple of; be divisible by, without a remainder:
Ten contains five.
to be equal to:
A quart contains two pints.

contain

/ ��ə��ˈ�ٱ�ɪ�� /

verb

to hold or be capable of holding or including within a fixed limit or area
this contains five pints
to keep (one's feelings, behaviour, etc) within bounds; restrain
to consist of; comprise
the book contains three different sections
military to prevent (enemy forces) from operating beyond a certain level or area
maths
1. to be a multiple of, leaving no remainder
  6 contains 2 and 3
2. to have as a subset

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Derived Forms

��ǲ�ˈ�ٲ��Բ��, adjective

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��ǲ�·�ٲ��a·�� adjective
��c�ǲ�·�ٲ�� verb (used with object)
un��ǲ�·�ٲ��a·�� adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of contain¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conte(y)nen, from Anglo-French contener, Old French contenir, from Latin ��ǲԳپ��ŧ��, equivalent to con- con- + -�پ��ŧ��, verb suffix of �ٱ��ŧ�� “to hold” ( tenet )

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of contain¹

C13: from Old French contenir, from Latin ��ǲԳپ��ŧ��, from com- together + �ٱ��ŧ�� to hold

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Synonym Study

Contain, accommodate, hold, express the idea that something is so designed that something else can exist or be placed within it. Contain refers to what is actually within a given container. Hold emphasizes the idea of keeping within bounds; it refers also to the greatest amount or number that can be kept within a given container. Accommodate means to contain comfortably or conveniently, or to meet the needs of a certain number. A passenger plane that accommodates 50 passengers may be able to hold 60, but at a given time may contain only 30.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

American conservatism would not have become what it is now — authoritarianism or fascism or Trumpism — unless it already contained the seed of its present form in its ideological DNA.

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Hairs covering the stems, leaves and flowers have glands that secrete a sticky substance containing prenylated phenols, which cause an itchy rash, according to Lewis.

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The script contained "very little" substance to Iceman's character, he said in his documentary.

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Mere seconds into the arrest, however, his handler failed to contain and subdue his K-9 partner.

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He also suggested that he was planning a posthumous release, containing songs written throughout the course of his life.

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