bond vs contract

bond

noun
  • A binding agreement, a covenant. 

  • An emotional link, connection or union; that which holds two or more people together, as in a friendship; a tie. 

  • A link or force between neighbouring atoms in a molecule. 

  • Evidence of a long-term debt, by which the bond issuer (the borrower) is obliged to pay interest when due, and repay the principal at maturity, as specified on the face of the bond certificate. The rights of the holder are specified in the bond indenture, which contains the legal terms and conditions under which the bond was issued. Bonds are available in two forms: registered bonds, and bearer bonds. 

  • A physical connection which binds, a band. 

  • A peasant; churl. 

  • Moral or political duty or obligation. 

  • A partial payment made to show a provider that the customer is sincere about buying a product or a service. If the product or service is not purchased the customer then forfeits the bond. 

  • In building, a specific pattern of bricklaying, based on overlapping rows or layers to give strength. 

  • A bail bond. 

  • A documentary obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract; a debenture. 

  • A vassal; serf; one held in bondage to a superior. 

  • A heavy copper wire or rod connecting adjacent rails of an electric railway track when used as a part of the electric circuit. 

  • Any constraining or cementing force or material. 

  • A mortgage. 

verb
  • To cause to adhere (one material with another). 

  • To guarantee or secure a financial risk. 

  • To lay bricks in a specific pattern. 

  • To bail out by means of a bail bond. 

  • To make a reliable electrical connection between two conductors (or any pieces of metal that may potentially become conductors). 

  • To form a friendship or emotional connection. 

  • To connect, secure or tie with a bond; to bind. 

  • To put in a bonded warehouse; to secure (goods) until the associated duties are paid. 

  • To form a chemical compound with. 

adj
  • Subject to the tenure called bondage. 

  • In a state of servitude or slavedom; not free. 

  • Servile; slavish; pertaining to or befitting a slave. 

contract

noun
  • The document containing such an agreement. 

  • An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone. 

  • An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed. 

  • An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement. 

  • A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts. 

  • The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump. 

verb
  • To enter into a contract with. 

  • To enter into, with mutual obligations; to make a bargain or covenant for. 

  • To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen. 

  • To make an agreement or contract; to covenant; to agree; to bargain. 

  • To betroth; to affiance. 

  • To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one. 

  • To bring on; to incur; to acquire. 

  • To gain or acquire (an illness). 

  • To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit. 

How often have the words bond and contract occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )