Bonding pair

A pair of electrons shared between two atoms, drawn as a line in a Lewis structure. It counts toward the octet (or duet) of both atoms it joins.

Methane: four bonding pairs and no lone pairs, so C has 8 electrons and each H has 2.

Example

A C=O double bond holds 2 bonding pairs (4 electrons), all of which count toward the octets of both C and O.