Definition of "hidebound" []

• Stubbornly prejudiced, narrow-minded, or inflexible. (adjective)
• Having abnormally dry, stiff skin that adheres closely to the underlying flesh. Used of domestic animals such as cattle. (adjective)
• Having the bark so contracted and unyielding as to hinder growth. Used of trees. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The real point is that words themselves 'live' and change and cannot remain hidebound to previously understood meanings alone."
• "The real point is that words themselves "live" and change and cannot remain hidebound to previously understood meanings alone."
• "[W] ords themselves 'live' and change and cannot remain hidebound to previously understood meanings alone."