plural bondages
1
: a state of being bound usually by compulsion (as of law): such as
a
: slavery, serfdom
Historically, the two most prevalent types of legal bondage were serfdom and chattel slavery.—
Michael Bush
Michael BushMore than 150 years after enslaved Africans and their descendants were released from bondage through ratification of the 13th Amendment, the slavery exception continues to permit the exploitation of labor by incarcerated individuals.—Aaron Morrison
Aaron MorrisonIn the Thar desert of Pakistan, generations of families are trapped in debt bondage, forced to work for years in brick kilns to repay loans from the kiln owners.—Isaiah Reynolds et al.
Isaiah Reynolds et al.
b
: servitude or subjugation to a controlling person or force
How can one company control the world's seed supply? When one gigantic corporate entity is allowed to block farmers from planting a seed without compensating that monopoly, the farmers are held in bondage to uncontrolled price increases.—John Boyd
John BoydDo you have the freedom of self-control or are you in bondage to your desires?—David Brooks
David Brooks2
: sadomasochistic sexual practices involving the physical restraint of one partner
Synonyms
Examples of bondage in a Sentence
a population held in bondage
Recent Examples on the Web
Her foot literally steps forward atop a broken chain of human bondage.
—The New York Times, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
His downfall comes only when the titular hero, the Sandman, also known as the Prince of Stories, frees Calliope from bondage.
—Lila Shapiro, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
Hurston’s novel is therefore usually read as an allegory of Emancipation, the flight from Egypt as an escape from the bondage of slavery.
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Most people in the free states opposed human bondage, in a general way, but the thin reed of public opinion was no match for the institutional strength of slavery in the South.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
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The New York Times, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
His downfall comes only when the titular hero, the Sandman, also known as the Prince of Stories, frees Calliope from bondage.
—Lila Shapiro, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025
Hurston’s novel is therefore usually read as an allegory of Emancipation, the flight from Egypt as an escape from the bondage of slavery.
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
Most people in the free states opposed human bondage, in a general way, but the thin reed of public opinion was no match for the institutional strength of slavery in the South.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bondage
Dictionary Entries Near bondage
Cite this Entry
“Bondage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bondage. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bondage
noun
bond·age
ˈbän-dij 
: the state of being an enslaved person or serf
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