band1

[band] /bænd/
noun
1.
a company of persons or, sometimes, animals or things, joined, acting, or functioning together; aggregation; party; troop:
a band of protesters.
2.
Music.
  1. a group of instrumentalists playing music of a specialized type:
    rock band; calypso band; mariachi band.
  2. a musical group, usually employing brass, percussion, and often woodwind instruments, that plays especially for marching or open-air performances.
  3. big band.
  4. dance band.
3.
a division of a nomadic tribe; a group of individuals who move and camp together and subsist by hunting and gathering.
4.
a group of persons living outside the law:
a renegade band.
verb (used with object)
5.
to unite in a troop, company, or confederacy.
verb (used without object)
6.
to unite; confederate (often followed by together):
They banded together to oust the chairman.
Idioms
7.
to beat the band, Informal. energetically; abundantly:
It rained all day to beat the band.
Origin
1480-90; < Middle French bande < Italian banda; cognate with Late Latin bandum < Germanic; akin to Gothic bandwa standard, band2, band3, bend1, bond1
Synonyms
1. gang, group; body; set; society, association, assembly. See company.

band2

[band] /bænd/
noun
1.
a thin, flat strip of some material for binding, confining, trimming, protecting, etc.:
a band on each bunch of watercress.
2.
a fillet, belt, or strap:
a band for the hair; a band for connecting pulleys.
3.
a stripe, as of color or decorative work.
4.
a strip of paper or other material serving as a label:
a cigar band.
5.
a plain or simply styled ring, without mounted gems or the like:
a thin gold band on his finger.
6.
(on a long-playing phonograph record) one of a set of grooves in which sound has been recorded, separated from an adjacent set or sets by grooves without recorded sound.
7.
bands, Geneva bands.
8.
a flat collar commonly worn by men and women in the 17th century in western Europe.
9.
Also called frequency band, wave band. Radio and Television. a specific range of frequencies, especially a set of radio frequencies, as HF, VHF, and UHF.
10.
Also called energy band. Physics. a closely spaced group of energy levels of electrons in a solid.
11.
Computers. one or more tracks or channels on a magnetic drum.
12.
Dentistry. a strip of thin metal encircling a tooth, usually for anchoring an orthodontic apparatus.
13.
Anatomy, Zoology. a ribbonlike or cordlike structure encircling, binding, or connecting a part or parts.
14.
(in handbound books) one of several cords of hemp or flax handsewn across the back of the collated signatures of a book to provide added strength.
verb (used with object)
15.
to mark, decorate, or furnish with a band or bands.
Origin
1480-90; < Middle French; Old French bende < Germanic; compare Old High German binta fillet. See bind, band1
Related forms
bander, noun
bandless, adjective

band3

[band] /bænd/
noun, Archaic.
1.
Usually, bands. articles for binding the person or the limbs; shackles; manacles; fetters.
2.
an obligation; bond:
the nuptial bands.
Origin
1100-50; late Old English < Old Norse band; cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian band, Old High German bant; akin to Sanskrit bandha-. See band1
Examples from the web for band
  • The long rows of silent people in chairs, watching with eyes that see not while the patient band tangles the air with music.
  • It seems that an ever increasing band of people lack the perspective to know where his or her suppositions have authority.
  • He joins a college rock band and offers inept fatherly advice to younger students.
  • But the industry can no longer rely on getting the price of an album as a reward for backing a band.
  • Town band, after town band enlisted with the local regiments.
  • For tender-stemmed blooms such as tulips and hyacinths, skip the rubber band and secure with floral tape only.
  • Community colleges are usually focused on a narrower band of questions, but not always.
  • After humanity is wiped out by a deadly airborne illness, a small band of survivors set about rebuilding civilization.
  • Back then, there was no one to witness either the misery or the bravery of this heroic band.
  • Roaring spectators and a band of drummers surround them.
British Dictionary definitions for band

band1

/bænd/
noun
1.
a company of people having a common purpose; group: a band of outlaws
2.
a group of musicians playing either brass and percussion instruments only (brass band) or brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments (concert band or military band)
3.
a group of musicians who play popular music, jazz, etc, often for dancing
4.
a group of instrumentalists generally; orchestra
5.
(Canadian) a formally recognized group of Canadian Indians on a reserve
6.
(anthropol) a division of a tribe; a family group or camp group
7.
(US & Canadian) a flock or herd
verb
8.
(usually foll by together) to unite; assemble
Word Origin
C15: from French bande probably from Old Provençal banda of Germanic origin; compare Gothic bandwa sign, banner

band2

/bænd/
noun
1.
a thin flat strip of some material, used esp to encircle objects and hold them together: a rubber band
2.
  1. a strip of fabric or other material used as an ornament or distinguishing mark, or to reinforce clothing
  2. (in combination): waistband, hairband, hatband
3.
a stripe of contrasting colour or texture See also chromosome band
4.
a driving belt in machinery
5.
a range of values that are close or related in number, degree, or quality
6.
  1. (physics) a range of frequencies or wavelengths between two limits
  2. (radio) such a range allocated to a particular broadcasting station or service
7.
short for energy band
8.
(computing) one or more tracks on a magnetic disk or drum
9.
(anatomy) any structure resembling a ribbon or cord that connects, encircles, or binds different parts
10.
the cords to which the folded sheets of a book are sewn
11.
a thin layer or seam of ore
12.
(architect) a strip of flat panelling, such as a fascia or plinth, usually attached to a wall
13.
a large white collar, sometimes edged with lace, worn in the 17th century
14.
either of a pair of hanging extensions of the collar, forming part of academic, legal, or (formerly) clerical dress
15.
a ring for the finger (esp in phrases such as wedding band, band of gold, etc)
verb (transitive)
16.
to fasten or mark with a band
17.
(US & Canadian) to ring (a bird) See ring1 (sense 22)
Word Origin
C15: from Old French bende, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German binda fillet; see band³

band3

/bænd/
noun
1.
an archaic word for bond (sense 1), bond (sense 3), bond (sense 4)
Word Origin
C13: from Old Norse band; related to Old High German bant fetter; see bend1, bond
Word Origin and History for band
n.

"a flat strip," also "something that binds," a merger of two words, ultimately from the same source. In the sense "that by which someone or something is bound," it is attested from early 12c., from Old Norse band "thin strip that ties or constrains," from Proto-Germanic *bindan, from PIE *bendh- "to bind" (cf. Gothic bandi "that which binds; Sanskrit bandhah "a tying, bandage," source of bandana; Middle Irish bainna "bracelet;" see bend (v.), bind (v.)). Most of the figurative senses of this word have passed into bond (n.), which originally was a phonetic variant of this band.

The meaning "a flat strip" (late 14c.) is from Old French bande "strip, edge, side," via Old North French bende, from Old High German binda, from Proto-Germanic *bindan (see above). In Middle English, this was distinguished by the spelling bande, but since the loss of the final -e the words have fully merged. Meaning "broad stripe of color" is from late 15c.; the electronics sense of "range of frequencies or wavelengths" is from 1922. The Old North French form was retained in heraldic bend. Band saw is recorded from 1864.

"an organized group," late 15c., from Middle French bande, which is traceable to the Proto-Germanic root of band (n.1), probably via a band of cloth worn as a mark of identification by a group of soldiers or others (cf. Gothic bandwa "a sign"). The extension to "group of musicians" is c.1660, originally musicians attached to a regiment of the army. To beat the band (1897) is to make enough noise to drown it out, hence to exceed everything.

v.

1520s, "to bind or fasten;" also "to join in a company," from band (n.1) and (n.2) in various noun senses, and partly from French bander. The meaning "to affix an ID band to (a wild animal, etc.)" is attested from 1914. Related: Banded; banding.

band in Medicine

band (bānd)
n.

  1. An appliance or a part of an apparatus that encircles or binds a part of the body.

  2. A cordlike tissue that connects or that holds bodily structures together.

  3. A chromatically, structurally, or functionally differentiated strip or stripe in or on an organism.

band in Science
band
  (bānd)   
A specific range of electromagnetic wavelengths or frequencies, as those used in radio broadcasting.
Slang definitions & phrases for band

band

Related Terms

big band, to beat the band


Idioms and Phrases with band

band

see: