Meaning & use
a bindle
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“a bindle” is a form of “bindle”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedAmerican
A small bundle of clothes and belongings tied up in cloth and carried on a stick.
Grammar: Countable: one bindle, two bindles. Often used with 'carry' or 'shoulder'.
Patterns
- carry a bindle
- a bindle of clothes
In the old photographs, the travelers each carried a bindle over one shoulder.
He packed a bindle with a spare shirt and some bread and set off down the road.
The cartoon character is famous for his ragged clothes and his little bindle.
nouncountableslang
A small folded packet of a powdered drug, especially heroin or cocaine.
Grammar: Countable; used mainly in police reports and news writing about drugs.
Patterns
- a bindle of heroin
- packets and bindles
Officers reported finding several bindles of white powder in the car.
The article described how the drug is sold in small bindles.
nouncountablerare
A bundle or package of something small wrapped in paper or cloth.
Grammar: Countable and now rare outside historical writing; 'bundle' is the everyday word.
Patterns
- a bindle of something
The clerk handed over a bindle of dried herbs tied with string.
Old ledgers list each bindle of tobacco by weight.
Word forms
| plural | bindles |
|---|
Common combinations
- carry a bindle
- The hobo walked along the tracks, carrying a bindle on a stick.
- a bindle of clothes
- She rolled a bindle of clothes and left before dawn.
- a bindle stick
- In the story, he slung his few things onto a bindle stick.
- bindles of drugs
- Police seized several bindles of drugs during the search.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bundle
- Bundle is the everyday word for things tied together and works in almost any context; bindle is old-fashioned and usually suggests a stick over the shoulder.
- pack
- A pack is a container you carry, such as a backpack; a bindle is cloth tied around loose items, with no container.
- packet
- A packet is a small sealed paper or plastic package, often of powder; it overlaps with the drug sense of bindle but not the traveler sense.
Word family
- bindle stiff noun
- Old-fashioned slang for a traveling worker who carried a bindle.
Commonly confused: a bindle or bundle? a bindle or bindle vs. bind?
a bindle vs bundle
Bundle is the common word for a group of things tied together. Bindle is a much rarer, old-fashioned word for a bundle carried on a stick.
a bindle vs bindle vs. bind
Do not connect bindle with the verb bind in meaning; the words are related in history but bindle is only a noun.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bindle' in its traditional sense?
Choose one answer.
A bindle is a small bundle of belongings, traditionally carried on a stick by a traveler. It is not a hair tie, a wallet, or a storage container.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a bindle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.