CONTAIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does contain mean? 

• CONTAIN (verb)
  The verb CONTAIN has 6 senses:

1. include or contain; have as a component

2. contain or hold; have within

3. lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits

4. be divisible by

5. be capable of holding or containing

6. hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of

  Familiarity information: CONTAIN used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CONTAIN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they contain    ... he / she / it contains   
Past simple: contained   
Past participle: contained   
-ing form: containing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Include or contain; have as a component

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

comprise; contain; incorporate

Context example:

The record contains many old songs from the 1930's

Hypernyms (to "contain" is one way to...):

include (have as a part, be made up out of)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Contain or hold; have within

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

bear; carry; contain; hold

Context example:

This can contains water

Hypernyms (to "contain" is one way to...):

include (have as a part, be made up out of)

Verb group:

contain; hold; take (be capable of holding or containing)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contain"):

retain (hold back within)

confine; enclose; hold in (close in)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

container (any object that can be used to hold things (especially a large metal boxlike object of standardized dimensions that can be loaded from one form of transport to another))

content (the amount that can be contained)

continent (having control over urination and defecation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

check; contain; control; curb; hold; hold in; moderate

Context example:

control your anger

Hypernyms (to "contain" is one way to...):

hold back; keep; keep back; restrain (prevent the action or expression of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contain"):

conquer; stamp down; subdue; suppress (bring under control by force or authority)

damp (restrain or discourage)

crucify; mortify; subdue (hold within limits and control)

abnegate; deny (deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure)

train (cause to grow in a certain way by tying and pruning it)

catch (check oneself during an action)

bate (moderate or restrain; lessen the force of)

thermostat (control the temperature with a thermostat)

counteract; countercheck (oppose or check by a counteraction)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Be divisible by

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Context example:

24 contains 6

Hypernyms (to "contain" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Domain category:

arithmetic (the branch of pure mathematics dealing with the theory of numerical calculations)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be capable of holding or containing

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

contain; hold; take

Context example:

The flask holds one gallon

Hypernyms (to "contain" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Verb group:

bear; carry; contain; hold (contain or hold; have within)

accommodate; admit; hold (have room for; hold without crowding)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

arrest; check; contain; hold back; stop; turn back

Context example:

Turn back the tide of communism

Hypernyms (to "contain" is one way to...):

defend (be on the defensive; act against an attack)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "contain"):

cut down; cut out (intercept (a player))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

containment (the act of containing; keeping something from spreading)

containment (a policy of creating strategic alliances in order to check the expansion of a hostile power or ideology or to force it to negotiate peacefully)

 Context examples 

But, in three hours travelling, the scene was wholly altered; we came into a most beautiful country; farmers’ houses, at small distances, neatly built; the fields enclosed, containing vineyards, corn-grounds, and meadows.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

I feel your harvest is due to be quite abundant because your solar eleventh house of profit currently contains Saturn (discipline), Pluto (powerful, financially savvy), and Jupiter (generous good fortune).

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The next morning he came to the eldest and took him to a marble table, where there were three tablets, containing an account of the means by which the castle might be disenchanted.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

"What is the matter?" Ruth asked suddenly alarmed by the effort he was making to contain himself.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The end result is that there’s no way to know whether the products you’re looking at contain high flavanol levels.

(Can Chocolate Really Be Good for You?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the epoch when the sun and its planets formed.

(Rosetta closing in on comet, NASA)

This new image of GK Persei contains X-rays from Chandra (blue), optical data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (yellow), and radio data from the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array (pink).

("Mini Supernova" Explosion Could Have Big Impact, NASA)

Though astronomers are uncertain of the shape and temperature of coronas, they know that they contain particles that move close to the speed of light.

(NuSTAR sees rare blurring of black hole light, NASA)

The dust distribution is a telltale sign of how dynamically interactive the inner system containing the ring is.

(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)

Besides oil, peanut seed contains protein, vitamins and other nutrients.

(Peanut Genome Sequenced with Unprecedent Accuracy, U.S. Department of Agriculture)