contain
//kənˈteɪn//
Forms
- present (v1)
- contain
- past (v2)
- contained
- past participle (v3)
- contained
- present participle
- containing
- 3rd person singular
- contains
Definitions
1.To hold inside.
- The brown box contains three stacks of books.
2.To include as a part.
- Most of the meals they offer contain meat.
- Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated.
3.To put constraints upon; to restrain; to confine; to keep within bounds.
- I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself!
- Fear not, my lord: we can contain ourselves.
4.To have as an element or subset.
- A group contains a unique inverse for each of its elements.
- If that subgraph contains the vertex in question then it must be spanning.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1017
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Word family
Etymology
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French contenir
From Latin continēre (“to hold or keep together, comprise, contain”), combined form of con- (“together”) + teneō (“to hold”).