diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 64b4bbd65f2..b571ac8adda 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ release.
 
 ### Metrics
 
+- Add in-development `Bind` API to synchronous instruments.
+  ([#5050](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/pull/5050))
 - Stabilize sections of Prometheus Metrics Exporter.
   - Stabilize temporality.
     ([#5024](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/issues/5024))
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix.md b/spec-compliance-matrix.md
index 532c53705a0..9ac5f58aad9 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix.md
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix.md
@@ -130,6 +130,7 @@ formats is required. Implementing more than one format is optional.
 | Instrument descriptions conform to the specified syntax. |  | - | + |  | - | + | + |  |  | - | + |  | - |
 | Instrument supports the advisory ExplicitBucketBoundaries parameter. |  | + | + |  |  |  | + |  |  |  |  |  | - |
 | Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter. |  | - | + |  |  |  | + |  |  |  |  |  | - |
+| Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes. | X | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 | All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently. |  | + | + | + | - |  | + |  |  | + | + |  | - |
 | All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently. |  | + | + | + | - |  | + |  |  | + | + |  | - |
 | All methods of any instrument are safe to be called concurrently. |  | + | + | + | - |  | + |  |  | + | + |  | - |
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/cpp.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/cpp.yaml
index 81d935efb33..73b89390e79 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/cpp.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/cpp.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '+'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/dotnet.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/dotnet.yaml
index 87c7e13e0c0..b8716c6739a 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/dotnet.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/dotnet.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '+'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/erlang.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/erlang.yaml
index 63562233105..fb0618829a5 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/erlang.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/erlang.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '+'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '+'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '+'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/go.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/go.yaml
index f8226c23340..fe7ae165f7f 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/go.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/go.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '+'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '-'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '+'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/java.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/java.yaml
index 97d5f019df1..52f87f4f4ea 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/java.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/java.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '+'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '+'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '+'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/js.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/js.yaml
index e251573e343..5c8a3086bca 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/js.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/js.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '+'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/kotlin.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/kotlin.yaml
index 85497e43b36..e09b598731c 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/kotlin.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/kotlin.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '-'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '-'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/php.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/php.yaml
index b0a56fd4ab2..59082762795 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/php.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/php.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '?'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/python.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/python.yaml
index 4678fb92b36..80cc750d8d7 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/python.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/python.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/ruby.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/ruby.yaml
index bdd8f7148a3..739005a0a2f 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/ruby.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/ruby.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '?'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/rust.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/rust.yaml
index 9772047cd7e..e5657f4eea7 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/rust.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/rust.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '?'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/swift.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/swift.yaml
index 5bbc00b322a..d8177d29fb7 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/swift.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/swift.yaml
@@ -223,6 +223,8 @@ sections:
         status: '?'
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
         status: '?'
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        status: '-'
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
         status: '?'
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/spec-compliance-matrix/template.yaml b/spec-compliance-matrix/template.yaml
index cdd24a84326..8db2a6c7e4c 100644
--- a/spec-compliance-matrix/template.yaml
+++ b/spec-compliance-matrix/template.yaml
@@ -157,6 +157,8 @@ sections:
       - name: Instrument descriptions conform to the specified syntax.
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory ExplicitBucketBoundaries parameter.
       - name: Instrument supports the advisory Attributes parameter.
+      - name: Synchronous instruments support Bind to pre-associate attributes.
+        optional: true
       - name: All methods of `MeterProvider` are safe to be called concurrently.
       - name: All methods of `Meter` are safe to be called concurrently.
       - name: All methods of any instrument are safe to be called concurrently.
diff --git a/specification/metrics/api.md b/specification/metrics/api.md
index c37fccc944d..ba733a04c56 100644
--- a/specification/metrics/api.md
+++ b/specification/metrics/api.md
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ weight: 1
       - [Asynchronous Instrument API](#asynchronous-instrument-api)
   * [General operations](#general-operations)
     + [Enabled](#enabled)
+    + [Bind](#bind)
   * [Counter](#counter)
     + [Counter creation](#counter-creation)
     + [Counter operations](#counter-operations)
@@ -476,6 +477,10 @@ All [synchronous instruments](#synchronous-instrument-api) SHOULD provide functi
 
 * [Report if instrument is `Enabled`](#enabled)
 
+All [synchronous instruments](#synchronous-instrument-api) MAY provide:
+
+* (**Development**) [Bind to a set of attributes](#bind)
+
 #### Enabled
 
 To help users avoid performing computationally expensive operations when
@@ -494,6 +499,61 @@ The returned value is not always static, it can change over time. The API
 SHOULD be documented that instrumentation authors needs to call this API each
 time they record a measurement to ensure they have the most up-to-date response.
 
+#### Bind
+
+**Status**: [Development](../document-status.md)
+
+The `Bind` API associates a fixed set of [Attributes](../common/README.md#attribute) with every
+measurement recorded on the returned bound instrument. Because attributes are resolved at bind
+time rather than at each recording, implementations can avoid per-recording attribute processing
+and lookup overhead.
+
+This API MUST accept the following parameter:
+
+* [Attributes](../common/README.md#attribute) to associate with every measurement recorded on
+  the returned bound instrument.
+
+  Users can provide attributes to associate with the bound instrument, but it is up
+  to their discretion. Therefore, this API MUST be structured to accept a variable
+  number of attributes, including none.
+
+This API MUST return a language-idiomatic type representing the instrument bound to those
+attributes.
+
+The returned bound instrument MUST support the instrument's core recording operation.
+The instrument kind determines the recording operation on the bound instrument:
+
+* [Counter](#counter): [Add](#add)
+* [Histogram](#histogram): [Record](#record)
+* [Gauge](#gauge): [Record](#record-1)
+* [UpDownCounter](#updowncounter): [Add](#add-1)
+
+This MAY be achieved by introducing a dedicated bound instrument type, or by reusing
+the existing instrument interface. If the existing instrument interface is reused, the
+`Bind` API MUST be documented to communicate to users that invoking attribute-bearing
+recording operations on the returned bound instrument negates the performance benefits
+of binding.
+
+Measurements recorded on the bound instrument can be associated with the
+[Context](../context/README.md).
+
+Here are some examples that [OpenTelemetry API](../overview.md#api) authors might consider:
+
+```java
+// Java
+
+LongCounter rolls = meter.counterBuilder("dice.rolls")
+    .setDescription("The number of times each side of the die was rolled")
+    .setUnit("{roll}")
+    .build();
+
+var face1 = rolls.bind(Attributes.of(AttributeKey.longKey("roll.value"), 1L));
+var face6 = rolls.bind(Attributes.of(AttributeKey.longKey("roll.value"), 6L));
+
+face1.add(1);
+face6.add(1);
+```
+
 ### Counter
 
 `Counter` is a [synchronous Instrument](#synchronous-instrument-api) which supports
diff --git a/specification/metrics/sdk.md b/specification/metrics/sdk.md
index 06211d1bfb3..5a82bb0cc02 100644
--- a/specification/metrics/sdk.md
+++ b/specification/metrics/sdk.md
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ weight: 3
     + [Instrument advisory parameter: `ExplicitBucketBoundaries`](#instrument-advisory-parameter-explicitbucketboundaries)
     + [Instrument advisory parameter: `Attributes`](#instrument-advisory-parameter-attributes)
   * [Instrument enabled](#instrument-enabled)
+  * [Instrument bind](#instrument-bind)
 - [Attribute limits](#attribute-limits)
 - [Exemplar](#exemplar)
   * [ExemplarFilter](#exemplarfilter)
@@ -1041,6 +1042,30 @@ Note: If a user makes no configuration changes, `Enabled` returns `true` since b
 default `MeterConfig.enabled=true` and instruments use the default
 aggregation when no matching views match the instrument.
 
+### Instrument bind
+
+**Status**: [Development](../document-status.md)
+
+A bound instrument MUST behave identically to calling the equivalent unbound recording
+operation with the pre-bound [Attributes](../common/README.md#attribute) on each
+measurement.
+
+[Attribute processing](#measurement-processing) and [cardinality limit](#cardinality-limits)
+evaluation MUST be performed at bind time. Each call to `Bind` MUST be independently
+evaluated against the cardinality state at that moment. As a consequence, separate calls
+to `Bind` with identical attributes may resolve to different aggregators (e.g. one to a
+concrete series, another to the [overflow series](#overflow-attribute)) based on the
+cardinality state at the time of each call. The resolved aggregator MUST be fixed and
+not change across collection cycles.
+
+Measurements recorded on a bound instrument MUST be candidates for [Exemplar](#exemplar)
+sampling. The [Context](../context/README.md) associated with each recording, whether
+implicit or explicit, MUST be used for exemplar [TraceBased](#tracebased) filtering and
+passed to the [ExemplarReservoir](#exemplarreservoir) offer method.
+
+The SDK MUST ensure attribute-free recordings on a bound instrument bypass per-recording
+map lookup.
+
 ## Attribute limits
 
 **Status**: [Stable](../document-status.md)