1. a person who provides bail or acts as surety for someone accused of a crime
Usage: legal
2. a person bound in service to another; a serf or slave
Usage: historical; archaic

Examples

• The defendant’s family hired a bondsman to post bail.
• The bondsman required collateral before agreeing to the arrangement.
• Without a bondsman, he would have remained in jail until trial.
• The bail bondsman charged a ten percent fee for his services.
• In medieval times, a bondsman was tied to the land he worked.
• The bondsman could not leave his master’s estate without permission.