contained

/kənˈteɪnd/

verb

  1. held or had something inside it.

    A2

    transitive; past tense and past participle of contain

    • "The box contained old photographs."A2

  2. included or consisted of particular parts or elements.

    B1

    transitive; past tense and past participle of contain

    • "The meal contained rice, vegetables, and chicken."A2
    • "The contract contained a clause about confidentiality."B2

  3. stopped something harmful or unwanted from spreading or becoming worse.

    B2

    transitive; past tense and past participle of contain

    • "The firefighters contained the fire."A2
    • "The government introduced measures that contained the spread of the virus."B2

adjective

  1. controlled and not openly expressed, especially describing emotions.

    C1
    • "She gave a contained smile."B2
    • "His response was polite but contained, revealing little about his feelings."C1

Common mistakes

  • The box was contained books.→The box contained books.

    Use contain as an active verb when something has items inside it; use was contained when something was kept under control or within limits.

Collocations

contained firecontained outbreakcontained angercontained responsecontained withincontain oneselfcontain the spread

Word family

containcontainercontainmentcontainable