pounce
1to swoop down suddenly and grasp, as a bird does in seizing its prey.
to spring, dash, or come suddenly: Unexpectedly she pounced on the right answer.
to seize (prey) suddenly: The bird quickly pounced its prey.
the claw or talon of a bird of prey.
a sudden swoop, as on an object of prey.
Origin of pounce
1Other words for pounce
Other words from pounce
- pounc·ing·ly, adverb
Words Nearby pounce
Other definitions for pounce (2 of 3)
to emboss (metal) by hammering on an instrument applied on the reverse side.
Origin of pounce
2Other definitions for pounce (3 of 3)
a fine powder, as of cuttlebone, formerly used to prevent ink from spreading in writing, or to prepare parchment for writing.
a fine powder, often of charcoal, used in transferring a design through a perforated pattern.
Also called pounce bag, pounce box . a small bag filled with pounce and struck against a perforated design.
to sprinkle, smooth, or prepare with pounce.
to trace (a design) with pounce.
to finish the surface of (hats) by rubbing with sandpaper or the like.
Origin of pounce
3Other words from pounce
- pouncer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use pounce in a sentence
Because of these differences, innate immune cells can speedily pounce on unwelcome intruders and diseased tissue.
‘Trained Immunity’ Offers Hope in Fight Against Coronavirus | Esther Landhuis | September 14, 2020 | Quanta MagazineSchrems was the litigant who prompted that July ruling, and his organization was quick to pounce after it came through.
Europe’s privacy regulators form task force to tackle complaints about Google and Facebook code | David Meyer | September 4, 2020 | FortuneThese plays either hit the other team with a punchy burst of shotmaking or unfold slowly until a mistake or mismatch can be pounced upon.
Give Boston’s Kemba Walker A Double Pick And Watch Him Work | Michael Pina | August 31, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightDoyle 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.
Separating MLB’s Buyers From Sellers At The Weirdest Trade Deadline Ever | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | August 28, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightWhen 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.
Nomar Garciaparra’s Full Career Wasn’t Enough For Cooperstown — But It Was Still Damn Good | Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com) | July 28, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
“I thought about throwing myself down a flight of stairs or have my eldest daughter pounce on top of me,” she said.
Women Share Their Secret Abortion Stories For 1 in 3 Campaign | Brandy Zadrozny | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn the event, in the long cat and mouse game that Stalin played with him, the cat did not pounce.
Before long, though, the cat did pounce on friends, and family, and colleagues.
It was easy for the media to pounce when he admitted to lacking a comprehensive strategy for tackling ISIS.
The SPLC points to Tom DeWeese as one of the first pounce on the U.N. plan.
Agenda 21: The U.N. Conspiracy That Just Won’t Die | Caitlin Dickson | April 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSure enough, there was the kitten, not taking the least care of her necktie, just ready to pounce upon a big mouse.
The Nursery, November 1881, Vol. XXX | VariousAnd so each day he hungered for the news, and when the paper came he would pounce upon it.
Love's Pilgrimage | Upton SinclairShe bent above the page, and in the fever of her interest seemed to pounce on it and scurry over it.
Country Neighbors | Alice BrownThe Indians took advantage of this to pounce upon their unsuspecting guests, at a given signal, and began killing them.
The Story of the Thirteen Colonies | H. A. (Hlne Adeline) GuerberIf Carlo was waiting at the entrance to pounce upon him, he wasn't going to be caught napping.
Bumper, The White Rabbit | George Ethelbert Walsh
British Dictionary definitions for pounce (1 of 3)
/ (paʊns) /
(intr; often foll by on or upon) to spring or swoop, as in capturing prey
the act of pouncing; a spring or swoop
the claw of a bird of prey
Origin of pounce
1Derived forms of pounce
- pouncer, noun
British Dictionary definitions for pounce (2 of 3)
/ (paʊns) /
(tr) to emboss (metal) by hammering from the reverse side
Origin of pounce
2British Dictionary definitions for pounce (3 of 3)
/ (paʊns) /
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
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
(as modifier): a pounce box
to dust (paper) with pounce
to transfer (a design) by means of pounce
Origin of pounce
3Derived forms of pounce
- pouncer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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