noun

• Evidence of a long-term debt, by which the bond issuer (the borrower) is obliged to pay interest when due, and repay the principal at maturity, as specified on the face of the bond certificate. The rights of the holder are specified in the bond indenture, which contains the legal terms and conditions under which the bond was issued. Bonds are available in two forms: registered bonds, and bearer bonds.
• A documentary obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract; a debenture.
• A partial payment made to show a provider that the customer is sincere about buying a product or a service. If the product or service is not purchased the customer then forfeits the bond.
• (often in the plural) A physical connection which binds, a band.
• An emotional link, connection or union; that which holds two or more people together, as in a friendship; a tie.
• Moral or political duty or obligation.
• A link or force between neighbouring atoms in a molecule.
• A binding agreement, a covenant.
• A bail bond.
• Any constraining or cementing force or material.
• In building, a specific pattern of bricklaying.
• In Scotland, a mortgage.
• A heavy copper wire or rod connecting adjacent rails of an electric railway track when used as a part of the electric circuit.

• A peasant; churl.
• A vassal; serf; one held in bondage to a superior.