contain

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb include or contain; have as a component
  2. verb contain or hold; have within
  3. verb lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits

Etymology

From Middle English, borrowed from Old French contenir, from Latin continēre (“to hold or keep together, comprise, contain”), combined form of con- (“together”) + teneō (“to hold”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

incorporate, comprise

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