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
In fact, Kamala Harris’ candidacy is great reminder of the need to see the roots and consequences of human bondage that existed across the Americas.
—Ana Lucia Araujo / Made By History, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
January 15, 2021: More screenshots start proliferating online — this time, screenshots from Hammer’s secondary Instagram account, including several photos and videos of women in bondage.
—Lydia Wang, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
Critics said the pattern looked similar to the white hoods worn by members of the KKK, an American white supremacist terrorist group that emerged after the Civil War and legal slavery had ended, freeing millions of Black people held in bondage.
—Kaitlyn Schwanemann, NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024
Mexican Americans in Texas helped Black people escape bondage through the Underground Railroad to Mexico via a series of clandestine paths and secret homes, historians say.
—Russell Contreras, Axios, 1 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bondage 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ana Lucia Araujo / Made By History, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
January 15, 2021: More screenshots start proliferating online — this time, screenshots from Hammer’s secondary Instagram account, including several photos and videos of women in bondage.
—Lydia Wang, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
Critics said the pattern looked similar to the white hoods worn by members of the KKK, an American white supremacist terrorist group that emerged after the Civil War and legal slavery had ended, freeing millions of Black people held in bondage.
—Kaitlyn Schwanemann, NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024
Mexican Americans in Texas helped Black people escape bondage through the Underground Railroad to Mexico via a series of clandestine paths and secret homes, historians say.
—Russell Contreras, Axios, 1 Oct. 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 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bondage
noun
bond·age
ˈbän-dij 
: the state of being an enslaved person or serf
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share