ounce

¹

[ ouns ]

noun

1. a unit of weight equal to 437.5 grains or 1/16 pound (28.35 grams) avoirdupois.
2. a unit of 480 grains, 1/12 pound (31.1 grams) troy or apothecaries' weight.
3. a fluid ounce.
4. a small quantity or portion.

ounce

²

[ ouns ]

noun

1. snow leopard.

ounce

¹

/ aʊns /

noun

1. a unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound (avoirdupois); 1 ounce is equal to 437.5 grains or 28.349 grams oz
2. a unit of weight equal to one twelfth of a Troy or Apothecaries' pound; 1 ounce is equal to 480 grains or 31.103 grams
3. short for fluid ounce
4. a small portion or amount

ounce

²

/ aʊns /

noun

1. another name for snow leopard

ounce

/ ouns /

1. A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 1 16 of a pound or 437.5 grains (28.35 grams).
2. See Table at measurement
3. See fluid ounce

Word History and Origins

Origin of ounce¹

1350–1400; Middle English unce < Middle French < Latin uncia twelfth part, inch, ounce, derivative of unus one

Origin of ounce²

1300–50; Middle English unce lynx < Anglo-French; Old French once, variant of lonce (erroneously taken as l'once the ounce) < Vulgar Latin *luncea, derivative of Latin lync- (stem of lynx ) lynx

Word History and Origins

Origin of ounce¹

C14: from Old French unce, from Latin uncia a twelfth; from ūnus one

Origin of ounce²

C18: from Old French once, by mistaken division of lonce as if l'once, from Latin lynx

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with ounce , also see more bang for the buck (bounce for the ounce) .

Example Sentences

Regardless of the species used, once the sap is reduced to syrup, it has about 100 calories per ounce.

From Popular-Science

It wasn’t a promising start to a working relationship, but I continue to carry the “miracle ounce,” not only because it can keep my heart beating through a cold night but because nothing else in my pack can be put to so many practical uses.

From Popular-Science

These stemless plastic wine glasses are constructed from BPA free, virtually seamless plastic, plus they look like glass and can hold up to 16 ounces of liquid.

From Popular-Science

So while fill power definitely shaves ounces for those looking to slim down their kit, the weight difference in many jackets is minor, and real weight savings are likely to come down to everything around the down.

From Outside Online

The first, which Hassabis calls “strike mode,” involves pushing the team as hard as possible to wring every ounce of performance out of an existing system.

From Fortune

Bunker, along with his brothers Herbert and Lamar, started buying silver in 1970, when it was $1.94 an ounce.

From The Daily Beast

In 1988 he was jailed for seven months when police in Jersey found half an ounce of cocaine on board his chopper.

From The Daily Beast

I paid $60 for two grams, which translates to $840 an ounce.

From The Daily Beast

And yet, for all his outspoken defense of the Russian government, Rohrabacher has not received an ounce of gratitude from Moscow.

From The Daily Beast

The Sun On Sunday accused Tulisa of subsequently brokering a deal to supply reporters with half an ounce of cocaine.

From The Daily Beast

It is only disposed to require a pretty strong solution of silver, say thirty grains to the ounce of water.

From Project Gutenberg

It should not exceed the ounce of tincture: about two drachms may be added after using it for paper.

From Project Gutenberg

It was the merest baby—half-an-ounce, perhaps—and it fell from the hook into the herbage some yards from the stream.

From Project Gutenberg

One of them gave out fully a quarter of an ounce of purple fluid from the lower part of the fish.

From Project Gutenberg

It was a hair-raising problem, too, and called for every ounce of nerve and every particle of skill the boy possessed.

From Project Gutenberg