band

A1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /bænd/ UK /bænd/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like bond /æ/ vs /ɑ/ Sounds like bend /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #1299

Meanings

1

noun
A group of musicians who play together.

Her favourite band is playing in town next week.
2

noun
A thin flat strip of material worn around something or used to hold things together.

She tied her hair back with an elastic band.
3

noun
A stripe or strip of colour or material that stands out from what is around it.

The rock had a band of darker stone running through it.
4

verb
To tie or bind things together with a band.

They banded the boxes together before shipping them.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a stripe or strip of colour... banding

Word family

Forms bandedbandingbands

Derived forms airbandbackbandband-aidband-passband-sawband-stopbanderbandficbandfishbandgapbandheadbandhood

Appears in

Phrases (3)

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elastic band
a stretchy loop of rubber used to hold objects together

Adjective + noun
jug band
a musical group using a jug and other simple or improvised instruments

Noun + noun
brass band
a group of musicians playing brass and percussion instruments

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

band-aid fix
a hasty, temporary solution that patches a symptom without addressing the root cause

Simplified etymology

Band meaning “a strip” comes from the same Germanic root as bind and bond. Band meaning “a group” entered Middle English through French from a Germanic source and initially usually referred to armed men, robbers, or assassins. By the mid-17th century it was also being applied to groups of musicians, initially those attached to army regiments.

Etymology

Derived from Middle English band, from Old French bande, from Old Occitan banda (“regiment of troops”), perhaps from Frankish *bend, from Proto-Germanic *bandiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie; bond, band”). Compare German Bande (“band”).

*bʰendʰ- Proto-Indo-European band Middle English bande Old French banda pro *bend frk *bandiz Proto-Germanic

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Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# band

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /bænd/
**IPA (UK):** /bænd/
**Frequency rank:** 1299

## Meanings
1. A group of musicians who play together.
2. A thin flat strip of material worn around something or used to hold things together.
3. A stripe or strip of colour or material that stands out from what is around it.
4. To tie or bind things together with a band.

## Examples
- Her favourite band is playing in town next week.
- She tied her hair back with an elastic band.
- The rock had a band of darker stone running through it.
- They banded the boxes together before shipping them.

## Derived Forms
- airband
- backband
- band-aid
- band-pass
- band-saw
- band-stop
- bander
- bandfic
- bandfish
- bandgap
- bandhead
- bandhood

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰendʰ-
- Root: band
- Root: bande
- Root: banda
- Root: *bend
- Root: *bandiz

## Etymology
Derived from Middle English band, from Old French bande, from Old Occitan banda (“regiment of troops”), perhaps from Frankish *bend, from Proto-Germanic *bandiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie; bond, band”). Compare German Bande (“band”).

## AI Etymology
Band is derived from Middle English band, from Old French bande, from Old Occitan banda (“regiment of troops”), perhaps from Frankish *bend, from Proto-Germanic *bandiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie; bond, band”). Compare German Bande (“band”).

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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