idiom · neutral
in a bind
/ɪn ə baɪnd/in·a·BIND
speakingtask2
in a difficult situation where it is hard to find a solution
Examples
“I'm in a bind — my laptop died and I need it for the presentation tomorrow.”
“She was really in a bind when both her references withdrew at the last minute.”
“If you lend him money now you'll be in a bind if he doesn't pay you back.”
Band 8 sentence
“I was in a bind when my university placed me on unpaid leave, but I managed to rearrange my commitments and meet the deadline.”
Collocations
- to be in a bind over + noun
- to get somebody in a bind
Word family
be in a bind phrase
Common mistakes
in bind→in a bind
in the bind→in a bind
Say it for a higher band
5in trouble→6in a difficult situation→7+in a bind
Synonyms
in a predicament
in a tight spot
Easily confused
in a jam
“I was in a bind when my passport went missing at the airport.”
Related words
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In Hardship
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