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25 results for: Contain

Dictionary Entries (10 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
con·tain    Audio Help   [kuhn-teyn] Pronunciation Key
–verb (used with object)
1.to hold or include within its volume or area: This glass contains water. This paddock contains our best horses.
2.to be capable of holding; have capacity for: The room will contain 75 persons safely.
3.to have as contents or constituent parts; comprise; include.
4.to keep under proper control; restrain: He could not contain his amusement.
5.to prevent or limit the expansion, influence, success, or advance of (a hostile nation, competitor, opposing force, natural disaster, etc.): to contain an epidemic.
6.to succeed in preventing the spread of: efforts to contain water pollution.
7.Mathematics. (of a number) to be a multiple of; be divisible by, without a remainder: Ten contains five.
8.to be equal to: A quart contains two pints.
[Origin: 1250–1300; ME conte(y)nen < AF contener, OF contenir < L continére, equiv. to con- con- + tenére to hold (see tenet)]

—Related forms
con·tain·a·ble, adjective

—Synonyms 1. 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. 3. embody, embrace.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Thesaurus Entries (1 more entry. View all »)
  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:  contain
Part of Speech:  verb
Definition:  To be filled by.
Synonyms:  have, hold
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:  contain
Part of Speech:  verb
Definition:  To have as a part.
Synonyms:  comprehend, comprise, embody, embrace, encompass, have, include, involve, subsume, take in
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus - Cite This Source
Main Entry:  accommodate
Part of Speech:  verb
Definition:  To have the room or capacity for.
Synonyms:  hold
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.


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