Adjacent Words

Boundary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BOUND'ARY, n. A limit; a bound. This word is thus used as synonymous with bound. But the real sense is, a visible mark designating a limit. Bound is the limit itself or furthest point of extension, and may be an imaginary line; but boundary is the thing which ascertains the limit; terminus,not finis. Thus by a statute of Connecticut, it is enacted that the inhabitants of every town shall procure its bounds to be set out by such marks and boundaries as may be a plain direction for the future; which marks and boundaries shall be a great heap of stones or a ditch of six feet long, etc. This distinction is observed also in the statute of Massachusetts. But the two words are, in ordinary use, confounded.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something [syn: boundary, bound, bounds]
2: a line determining the limits of an area [syn: boundary, edge, bound]
3: the greatest possible degree of something; "what he did was beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior"; "to the limit of his ability" [syn: limit, bound, boundary]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -aries) Etymology: ²bound + ¹-ary Date: 1598 something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent • boundaryless adjective • boundarylessness noun

U.S. Military Dictionary

A line that delineates surface areas for the purpose of facilitating coordination and deconfliction of operations between adjacent units, formations, or areas. See also airspace control boundary. (JP 3-0)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 a line marking the limits of an area, territory, etc. (the fence is the boundary; boundary between liberty and licence). 2 Cricket a hit crossing the limits of the field, scoring 4 or 6 runs. Phrases and idioms: boundary layer the fluid immediately surrounding an object that is immersed and moving. boundary rider Austral. & NZ a person employed to ride round the fences etc. of a cattle or sheep station and keep them in good order. boundary umpire (in Australian Rules) an umpire on the sidelines who signals when the ball is out. Etymology: dial. bounder f. BOUND(2) + -ER(1) perh. after limitary

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Boundary Bound"a*ry, n.; pl. Boundaries [From Bound a limit; cf. LL. bonnarium piece of land with fixed limits.] That which indicates or fixes a limit or extent, or marks a bound, as of a territory; a bounding or separating line; a real or imaginary limit. But still his native country lies Beyond the boundaries of the skies. --N. Cotton. That bright and tranquil stream, the boundary of Louth and Meath. --Macaulay. Sensation and reflection are the boundaries of our thoughts. --Locke. Syn: Limit; bound; border; term; termination; barrier; verge; confines; precinct. Usage: Bound, Boundary. Boundary, in its original and strictest sense, is a visible object or mark indicating a limit. Bound is the limit itself. But in ordinary usage the two words are made interchangeable.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(boundaries) 1. The boundary of an area of land is an imaginary line that separates it from other areas. ...the Bow Brook which forms the western boundary of the wood... Drug traffickers operate across national boundaries. = border, frontier N-COUNT: oft N of/between n 2. The boundaries of something such as a subject or activity are the limits that people think that it has. The boundaries between history and storytelling are always being blurred and muddled. ...extending the boundaries of press freedom. N-COUNT: usu pl, oft N of/between n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Limit, border, confine, march, bourn, bound, verge, term, termination.

Moby Thesaurus

Thule, Ultima Thule, ankle, articulation, balustrade, barrier, bisector, bitter end, border line, bordering, borderline, borders, bottom dollar, bound, boundary condition, boundary line, bounding, bounds, bourn, break boundary, breakoff point, butt, butt end, caesura, caudal, ceiling, cervix, circumscription, clinch, closure, coastal, colon, comma, compass, conclusive, confine, confinement, confines, connecting link, connecting rod, connection, continence, coupling, cutoff, cutoff point, deadline, definitive, delimitation, determinant, determinative, determining, diameter, discipline, divider, division line, dovetail, elbow, embrace, end, endmost, equator, eventual, extreme, extremity, fag end, farthest, farthest bound, fence, final, finish, floor, fringing, frontier, frontiers, gliding joint, halfway mark, hedge, high-water mark, hinge, hinged joint, hip, interface, join, joining, joint, jumping-off place, juncture, knee, knuckle, last, limbic, limen, liminal, limit, limitation, limiting, limiting factor, limits, line, line of demarcation, link, littoral, low-water mark, lower limit, march, marginal, mark, mete, miter, moderation, mortise, neck, nib, partition, pause, perimeter, period, pivot, pivot joint, point, polar, pole, precincts, prescription, proscription, purlieus, qualification, rabbet, rail, railing, restrain, restriction, rimming, scarf, seam, semicolon, shoulder, skirting, start, starting line, starting point, stitch, stone wall, stop, stub, stump, suture, symphysis, tag, tag end, tail, tail end, target date, term, terminal, terminal date, terminating, terminative, terminus, threshold, tie rod, time allotment, tip, toggle, toggle joint, ultimate, union, upper limit, wall, weld, wrist