ABOUND

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does abound mean? 

• ABOUND (verb)
  The verb ABOUND has 2 senses:

1. be abundant or plentiful; exist in large quantities

2. be in a state of movement or action

  Familiarity information: ABOUND used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABOUND (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they abound    ... he / she / it abounds   
Past simple: abounded   
Past participle: abounded   
-ing form: abounding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be abundant or plentiful; exist in large quantities

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "abound" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Also:

abound in (exist in large quantity)

Derivation:

abundance (the property of a more than adequate quantity or supply)

abundant (present in great quantity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be in a state of movement or action

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

abound; bristle; burst

Context example:

The garden bristled with toddlers

Hypernyms (to "abound" is one way to...):

feature; have (have as a feature)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence examples:

The crowds abound in the streets
The streets abound with crowds

 Context examples 

My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits which abound in the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a shattered skull.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sea is Earth's most formidable carbon dioxide storage machine, but mysteries abound about the interlocking processes and the myriad organisms involved.

(Research provides new view of the critical role of plankton in marine carbon storage, National Science Foundation)

I only hope, said my aunt, shaking her head, that her husband is one of those Poker husbands who abound in the newspapers, and will beat her well with one.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The whole country about them abounded in beautiful walks.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

But as those countries which I have described do not appear to have any desire of being conquered and enslaved, murdered or driven out by colonies, nor abound either in gold, silver, sugar, or tobacco, I did humbly conceive, they were by no means proper objects of our zeal, our valour, or our interest.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Because blue and green clays abound in nature, the discovery of how their antibacterial action works should lead to alternative ways of treating persistent infections and diseases that are difficult to treat with antibiotics.

(Scientists discover how blue and green clays kill bacteria, NSF)

What does exist is a great diversity of halophilic archaea (a type of primitive salt-loving microorganism) in the desert and the saline canyons around the hydrothermal site, but neither is found in the hyperacid and hypersaline pools themselves, nor in the so-called Black and Yellow lakes of Dallol, where magnesium abounds.

(Place discovered on earth with no microbial life, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

But my people have worn green glasses on their eyes so long that most of them think it really is an Emerald City, and it certainly is a beautiful place, abounding in jewels and precious metals, and every good thing that is needed to make one happy.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

He had communicated it to no creature: he had not breathed a syllable of it even to Mary; while uncertain of the issue, he could not have borne any participation of his feelings, but this had been his business; and he spoke with such a glow of what his solicitude had been, and used such strong expressions, was so abounding in the deepest interest, in twofold motives, in views and wishes more than could be told, that Fanny could not have remained insensible of his drift, had she been able to attend; but her heart was so full and her senses still so astonished, that she could listen but imperfectly even to what he told her of William, and saying only when he paused, How kind! how very kind!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

I sincerely hope your Christmas in Hertfordshire may abound in the gaieties which that season generally brings, and that your beaux will be so numerous as to prevent your feeling the loss of the three of whom we shall deprive you.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)