The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Bind \Bind\, v. t. [imp. Bound; p. p. Bound, formerly
   Bounden; p. pr. & vb. n. Binding.] [AS. bindan, perfect
   tense band, bundon, p. p. bunden; akin to D. & G. binden,
   Dan. binde, Sw. & Icel. binda, Goth. bindan, Skr. bandh (for
   bhandh) to bind, cf. Gr. ? (for ?) cable, and L. offendix.
   [root]90.]
   1. To tie, or confine with a cord, band, ligature, chain,
      etc.; to fetter; to make fast; as, to bind grain in
      bundles; to bind a prisoner.
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   2. To confine, restrain, or hold by physical force or
      influence of any kind; as, attraction binds the planets to
      the sun; frost binds the earth, or the streams.
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            He bindeth the floods from overflowing. --Job
                                                  xxviii. 11.
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            Whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years.
                                                  --Luke xiii.
                                                  16.
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   3. To cover, as with a bandage; to bandage or dress; --
      sometimes with up; as, to bind up a wound.
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   4. To make fast ( a thing) about or upon something, as by
      tying; to encircle with something; as, to bind a belt
      about one; to bind a compress upon a part.
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   5. To prevent or restrain from customary or natural action;
      as, certain drugs bind the bowels.
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   6. To protect or strengthen by a band or binding, as the edge
      of a carpet or garment.
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   7. To sew or fasten together, and inclose in a cover; as, to
      bind a book.
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   8. Fig.: To oblige, restrain, or hold, by authority, law,
      duty, promise, vow, affection, or other moral tie; as, to
      bind the conscience; to bind by kindness; bound by
      affection; commerce binds nations to each other.
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            Who made our laws to bind us, not himself. --Milton.
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   9. (Law)
      (a) To bring (any one) under definite legal obligations;
          esp. under the obligation of a bond or covenant.
          --Abbott.
      (b) To place under legal obligation to serve; to
          indenture; as, to bind an apprentice; -- sometimes
          with out; as, bound out to service.
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   To bind over, to put under bonds to do something, as to
      appear at court, to keep the peace, etc.

   To bind to, to contract; as, to bind one's self to a wife.


   To bind up in, to cause to be wholly engrossed with; to
      absorb in.
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   Syn: To fetter; tie; fasten; restrain; restrict; oblige.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Binding \Bind"ing\, n.
   1. The act or process of one who, or that which, binds.
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   2. Anything that binds; a bandage; the cover of a book, or
      the cover with the sewing, etc.; something that secures
      the edge of cloth from raveling.
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   3. pl. (Naut.) The transoms, knees, beams, keelson, and other
      chief timbers used for connecting and strengthening the
      parts of a vessel.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Binding \Bind"ing\, a.
   That binds; obligatory.
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   Binding beam (Arch.), the main timber in double flooring.


   Binding joist (Arch.), the secondary timber in
      double-framed flooring.
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   Syn: Obligatory; restraining; restrictive; stringent;
        astringent; costive; styptic.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

binding
    adj 1: executed with proper legal authority; "a binding
           contract"
    n 1: the capacity to attract and hold something
    2: strip sewn over or along an edge for reinforcement or
       decoration
    3: the act of applying a bandage [syn: dressing, bandaging,
       binding]
    4: one of a pair of mechanical devices that are attached to a
       ski and that will grip a ski boot; the bindings should
       release in case of a fall [syn: ski binding, binding]
    5: the protective covering on the front, back, and spine of a
       book; "the book had a leather binding" [syn: binding, book
       binding, cover, back]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

161 Moby Thesaurus words for "binding":
   Smyth sewing, absolute, adhesive, affixation, annexation,
   attachment, authoritative, backing, bandage, bandaging, beading,
   bibliopegy, binder, binder board, bond, book cloth, book cover,
   book jacket, bookbinding, bookcase, bordering, bordure, canonical,
   case, casemaking, casing-in, clasping, cogent, collating,
   collating mark, combinative, communicating, compulsory, conclusive,
   conjunctive, connecting, connectional, connective, consistent,
   copulative, cover, de rigueur, decisive, decretory, dictated,
   didactic, dust cover, dust jacket, edging, entailed, envelope,
   envelopment, fastener, fastening, fimbria, fimbriation, final,
   flounce, folding, footband, formulary, frill, frilling, fringe,
   furbelow, galloon, gathering, gift wrapping, girding, gluing-off,
   good, hard and fast, hard binding, hard-and-fast, headband, hem,
   hooking, imperative, imperious, imposed, inevitable, instructive,
   intercommunicating, involuntary, irrevocable, jacket, joining,
   just, knot, lashing, lawful, legal, legitimate, library binding,
   ligation, lining, lining-up, linking, list, logical, mandated,
   mandatory, mechanical binding, meeting, motif, must, necessary,
   niggerhead, obligatory, official, peremptory, perfect binding,
   plastic binding, preceptive, prescribed, prescript, prescriptive,
   regulation, required, rounding, rubric, ruffle, saddle stitching,
   self-consistent, selvage, sewing, side sewing, signature, skirting,
   slipcase, slipcover, smashing, soft binding, solid, sound,
   spiral binding, splice, stamping, standard, stapling, statutory,
   sticking, substantial, sufficient, tailband, tieing, tipping,
   trimming, ultimate, valance, valid, weighty, well-founded,
   well-grounded, welt, wire stitching, without appeal, wrap, wrapper,
   wrapping, zipping