pounce

¹

[ pouns ]

verb (used without object)

, pounced, pounc·ing.

1. to swoop down suddenly and grasp, as a bird does in seizing its prey.
2. to spring, dash, or come suddenly:

   Unexpectedly she pounced on the right answer.

verb (used with object)

, pounced, pounc·ing.

1. to seize (prey) suddenly:

   The bird quickly pounced its prey.

noun

1. the claw or talon of a bird of prey.
2. a sudden swoop, as on an object of prey.

   Synonyms: spring, lunge, leap

pounce

²

[ pouns ]

verb (used with object)

, pounced, pounc·ing.

1. to emboss (metal) by hammering on an instrument applied on the reverse side.

pounce

³

[ pouns ]

noun

1. a fine powder, as of cuttlebone, formerly used to prevent ink from spreading in writing, or to prepare parchment for writing.
2. a fine powder, often of charcoal, used in transferring a design through a perforated pattern.
3. Also called pounce bag,. a small bag filled with pounce and struck against a perforated design.

verb (used with object)

, pounced, pounc·ing.

1. to sprinkle, smooth, or prepare with pounce.
2. to trace (a design) with pounce.
3. to finish the surface of (hats) by rubbing with sandpaper or the like.

pounce

¹

/ paʊns /

verb

1. tr to emboss (metal) by hammering from the reverse side

pounce

²

/ paʊns /

verb

1. intr; often foll by on or upon to spring or swoop, as in capturing prey

noun

1. the act of pouncing; a spring or swoop
2. the claw of a bird of prey

pounce

³

/ paʊns /

noun

1. a very fine resinous powder, esp of cuttlefish bone, formerly used to dry ink or sprinkled over parchment or unsized writing paper to stop the ink from running
2. a fine powder, esp of charcoal, that is tapped through perforations in paper corresponding to the main lines of a design in order to transfer the design to another surface
3. ( as modifier )

   a pounce box

verb

1. to dust (paper) with pounce
2. to transfer (a design) by means of pounce

Derived Forms

• ˈpouncer, noun
• ˈpouncer, noun

Other Words From

• pouncing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of pounce¹

First recorded in 1375–1425 pounce ¹( fordef 4 ); late Middle English; perhaps akin to punch ¹

Origin of pounce²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pounsen, pounson, punchen, perhaps identical with pounce ¹

Origin of pounce³

First recorded in 1700–10; from French ponce, ultimately from Latin pūmic-, stem of pūmex pumice

Word History and Origins

Origin of pounce¹

C15 pounsen, from Old French poinçonner to stamp; perhaps the same as pounce ¹

Origin of pounce²

C17: apparently from Middle English punson pointed tool; see puncheon ²

Origin of pounce³

C18: from Old French ponce, from Latin pūmex pumice

Example Sentences

Because of these differences, innate immune cells can speedily pounce on unwelcome intruders and diseased tissue.

From Quanta Magazine

Schrems was the litigant who prompted that July ruling, and his organization was quick to pounce after it came through.

From Fortune

These plays either hit the other team with a punchy burst of shotmaking or unfold slowly until a mistake or mismatch can be pounced upon.

From FiveThirtyEight

Doyle says a lot of teams should be in the market to pounce this year if the offer is right, but that also means trading partners could be hard to find.

From FiveThirtyEight

When the Texas Rangers gave up on their A-Rod experiment, the Red Sox pounced on the chance to upgrade from baseball’s second-best shortstop to its best.

From FiveThirtyEight

“I thought about throwing myself down a flight of stairs or have my eldest daughter pounce on top of me,” she said.

From The Daily Beast

In the event, in the long cat and mouse game that Stalin played with him, the cat did not pounce.

From The Daily Beast

Before long, though, the cat did pounce on friends, and family, and colleagues.

From The Daily Beast

It was easy for the media to pounce when he admitted to lacking a comprehensive strategy for tackling ISIS.

From The Daily Beast

The SPLC points to Tom DeWeese as one of the first pounce on the U.N. plan.

From The Daily Beast

Sure enough, there was the kitten, not taking the least care of her necktie, just ready to pounce upon a big mouse.

From Project Gutenberg

And so each day he hungered for the news, and when the paper came he would pounce upon it.

From Project Gutenberg

She bent above the page, and in the fever of her interest seemed to pounce on it and scurry over it.

From Project Gutenberg

The Indians took advantage of this to pounce upon their unsuspecting guests, at a given signal, and began killing them.

From Project Gutenberg

If Carlo was waiting at the entrance to pounce upon him, he wasn't going to be caught napping.

From Project Gutenberg