n.1. A thin strip of flexible material used to encircle and bind one object or to hold a number of objects together: a metal band around the bale of cotton.
2. A strip or stripe that contrasts with something else in color, texture, or material.
3. A narrow strip of fabric used to trim, finish, or reinforce articles of clothing.
4. Something that constrains or binds morally or legally: the bands of marriage and family.
5. A simple ungrooved ring, especially a wedding ring.
6. a. A neckband or collar.
b. bands The two strips hanging from the front of a collar as part of the dress of certain clerics, scholars, and lawyers.
c. A high collar popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.
7. a. Biology A chromatically, structurally, or functionally differentiated strip or stripe in or on an organism.
b. Anatomy A cordlike tissue that connects or holds structures together.
8. Physics a. A specific range of wavelengths or frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.
b. A range of very closely spaced electron energy levels in solids, the distribution and nature of which determine the electrical properties of a material.
9. Any of the distinct grooves on a long-playing phonograph record that contains an individual selection or a separate section of a whole.
10. A cord or strip across the back of a book to which the sheets or quires are attached.
tr.v. band·ed,
band·ing,
bands 1. To tie, bind, or encircle with or as if with a band.
2. To mark or identify with or as if with a band: a program to band migrating birds.