# contain

> English word · Verb · IPA /kənˈteɪn/ · frequency rank #2,984

## Definitions
1. To hold inside.
2. To include as a part.
3. To put constraints upon; to restrain; to confine; to keep within bounds.
4. To have as an element or subset.
5. To restrain desire; to live in continence or chastity.

## Etymology
From Middle English, borrowed from Old French contenir, from Latin continēre (“to hold or keep together, comprise, contain”), combined form of con- (“together”) + teneō (“to hold”).

## Easily confused with
- **curtain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contain-vs-curtain)
- **contains** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contain-vs-contains)
- **contained** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contain-vs-contained)
- **container** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contain-vs-container)
- **Conan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conan-vs-contain)
- **Cobain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cobain-vs-contain)
- **conman** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conman-vs-contain)
- **certain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/certain-vs-contain)
- **contact** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contact-vs-contain)
- **captain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-contain)
- **Conklin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/conklin-vs-contain)
- **contagion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/contagion-vs-contain)
- **constrain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/constrain-vs-contain)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ccontain`, `cnotain`, `conatin`, `conntain`, `containn`, `contani`, `contian`, `conttain`, `cotnain`, `ocntain`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/contain