bind (bound, bound)

V. To make yourself or someone else legally responsible for something

If you are bound by something (a rule, a decision), you have to act in a certain way.

A treaty binds all countries who have signed it.

The new government does not feel bound by any agreements made before it took power.

binding Adj.

A binding promise (agreement, contract) is one that has to be kept.

That decision is binding precedent.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said today that the United States expected to meet Russia's demand for a legally binding agreement on reducing nuclear weapons.