Be Bound To Do vs. Bound For Somewhere separates two distinct Oxford-documented senses. Bound to do/be expresses certainty or likelihood, while bound for + destination describes travel toward a place. The guide keeps those senses separate from legal or duty-bound uses.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionEnglish Usage
Quick answer
Bound to do/be means certain or likely to do or be something; bound for + place means travelling, or ready to travel, toward that destination.
Key details
Confusion Familyusage-construction
Rule Familyconstruction choice
Termsbound to do/be, bound for + destination
Further guidance
Core difference
Oxford gives bound to do/be for certainty or likelihood and bound for a place for direction of travel. These are different senses, not interchangeable complements.
Style Boundary
Do not apply the travel sense to legal or duty-bound uses of “bound,” which Oxford treats separately.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
Agree With vs. Agree On separates directly documented constructions and keeps the distinction narrow rather than turning a context-sensitive pattern into a universal preposition rule.
Angry With vs. Angry About separates directly documented constructions and keeps the distinction narrow rather than turning a context-sensitive pattern into a universal preposition rule.
Appropriate For vs. Appropriate To separates directly documented constructions and keeps the distinction narrow rather than turning a context-sensitive pattern into a universal preposition rule.
Available To vs. Available For separates directly documented constructions and keeps the distinction narrow rather than turning a context-sensitive pattern into a universal preposition rule.
Be Elated To Do vs. Elated By Something compares two directly documented complement patterns for “elated.” Oxford evidence supports an infinitival use as well as elated at/by + noun phrase, so the guide explains the construction choice without generalizing from synonyms.
Be Eligible To Do vs. Eligible For Something distinguishes Oxford’s directly documented eligible to + verb and eligible for + noun phrase patterns. The choice depends on whether eligibility is framed as an action or as eligibility for a benefit, status, role, or other noun phrase.
