Dictionary:
band1(bănd)![]() |
- A thin strip of flexible material used to encircle and bind one object or to hold a number of objects together: a metal band around the bale of cotton.
- A strip or stripe that contrasts with something else in color, texture, or material.
- A narrow strip of fabric used to trim, finish, or reinforce articles of clothing.
- Something that constrains or binds morally or legally: the bands of marriage and family.
- A simple ungrooved ring, especially a wedding ring.
- A neckband or collar.
- bands The two strips hanging from the front of a collar as part of the dress of certain clerics, scholars, and lawyers.
- A high collar popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- Biology. A chromatically, structurally, or functionally differentiated strip or stripe in or on an organism.
- Anatomy. A cordlike tissue that connects or holds structures together.
- Physics.
- A specific range of wavelengths or frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.
- A range of very closely spaced electron energy levels in solids, the distribution and nature of which determine the electrical properties of a material.
- Any of the distinct grooves on a long-playing phonograph record that contains an individual selection or a separate section of a whole.
- A cord or strip across the back of a book to which the sheets or quires are attached.
- To tie, bind, or encircle with or as if with a band.
- To mark or identify with or as if with a band: a program to band migrating birds.
[Middle English bende (from Old English bendand from Old French bande, bende, of Germanic origin) and Middle English bond, band (from Old Norse, band).]
band2 (bănd)

n.
- A group of people: a band of outlaws.
- A group of animals.
- Anthropology. A unit of social organization especially among hunter-gatherers, consisting of a usually small number of families living together cooperatively.
- Canadian. An aboriginal group officially recognized as an organized unit by the Canadian government. See Usage Note at First Nation.
- A group of musicians who perform as an ensemble.
v., band·ed, band·ing, bands. v.tr.
To assemble or unite in a group.
v.intr.To form a group; unite: banded together for protection.
[Earlier bande, from Old French, banner, troop identified by its standard, of Germanic origin.]
SYNONYMS band, company, corps, party, troop, troupe. These nouns denote a group of individuals acting together for a common purpose: a band of thieves; a company of scientists; a corps of drummers; a party of tourists; a troop of students on a field trip; a troupe of actors.


