bounce

[ bouns ]

/ baʊns /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bounce ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), bounced, bounc·ing.

to spring back from a surface in a lively manner: The ball bounced off the wall.

to strike the ground or other surface, and rebound: The ball bounced once before he caught it.

to move or walk in a lively, exuberant, or energetic manner: She bounced into the room.

to move along in a lively manner, repeatedly striking the surface below and rebounding: The box bounced down the stairs.

to move about or enter or leave noisily or angrily (followed by around, about, out, out of, into, etc.): He bounced out of the room in a huff.

(of a check or the like) to fail to be honored by the bank against which it was drawn, due to lack of sufficient funds.

verb (used with object), bounced, bounc·ing.

to cause to bound and rebound: to bounce a ball; to bounce a child on one's knee; to bounce a signal off a satellite.

to refuse payment on (a check) because of insufficient funds: The bank bounced my rent check.

to give (a bad check) as payment: That's the first time anyone bounced a check on me.

Slang. to eject, expel, or dismiss summarily or forcibly.

noun

a bound or rebound: to catch a ball on the first bounce.

a sudden spring or leap: In one bounce he was at the door.

ability to rebound; resilience: This tennis ball has no more bounce.

vitality; energy; liveliness: There is bounce in his step. This soda water has more bounce to it.

the fluctuation in magnitude of target echoes on a radarscope.

Slang. a dismissal, rejection, or expulsion: He's gotten the bounce from three different jobs.

adverb

with a bounce; suddenly.

Verb Phrases

bounce back, to recover quickly: After losing the first game of the double-header, the team bounced back to win the second.

Origin of bounce

1175–1225; Middle English buncin, bounsen, variant of bunkin, apparently cognate with Dutch bonken to thump, belabor, bonzen to knock, bump

SYNONYMS FOR bounce

14 animation, vivacity, life, spirit, pep, vigor, zip.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR bounce ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM bounce

bounce·a·ble, adjective bounce·a·bly, adverb

Words nearby bounce

boulter, boulton, boumedienne, boumédienne, boun, bounce, bounce around, bounce back, bounce flash, bounce game, bounce light

Example sentences from the Web for bounce

The whole idea was to be a stone wall and just let everyone else bounce off us.

Street Harassment Shouldn’t Be a Crime |Lizzie Crocker |October 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The gosling's best chance at surviving the jump is to bounce off the cliff on its soft belly.

Barnacle Gosling’s Death-Defying Cliff Dive |Alex Chancey, The Daily Beast Video |October 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In contrast, word that Ebola might be sexually transmitted would likely bounce very differently.

Ebola Might Be Sexually Transmitted |Kent Sepkowitz |September 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Ojile likens it to chronic sleep deprivation: An occasional all-nighter is rough, but you bounce back.

Can Changing Time Zones Affect Your Health? |DailyBurn |June 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

It meant more to our father to see us deal with a setback and try to bounce back than to watch how we handled our successes.

‘Calamity Jill’ Rises Again: Fired New York Times Editor Returns to the Public Stage |Lloyd Grove |May 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
But if you use him for your future—well, I have a little scheme that might bounce you up to the sky in a hurry.

We Can't Have Everything |Rupert Hughes
In her astonishment I thought she was going to bounce out of the carriage.

A Romantic Young Lady |Robert Grant
Bounce shook his head as if to say there was no danger while in his company.

The Cave by the Beech Fork |Henry S. Spalding
I shall get smart young chaps with plenty of bounce and go, but not much education.

A Lost Cause |Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
It must not be supposed that such experienced men as Redhand and Bounce were altogether unprepared for a surprise of this sort.

The Wild Man of the West |R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for bounce

bounce

/ (baʊns) /

verb

(intr) (of an elastic object, such as a ball) to rebound from an impact

(tr) to cause (such an object) to hit a solid surface and spring back

to rebound or cause to rebound repeatedly

to move or cause to move suddenly, excitedly, or violently; spring she bounced up from her chair

slang (of a bank) to send (a cheque) back or (of a cheque) to be sent back unredeemed because of lack of funds in the drawer's account

(of an internet service provider) to send (an email message) back or (of an email message) to be sent back to the sender, for example because the recipient's email account is full

(tr) slang to force (a person) to leave (a place or job); throw out; eject

(tr) British to hustle (a person) into believing or doing something

noun

the action of rebounding from an impact

a leap; jump; bound

the quality of being able to rebound; springiness

informal vitality; vigour; resilience

British swagger or impudence

informal a temporary increase or rise

the bounce Australian rules football the start of play at the beginning of each quarter or after a goal

get the bounce or give the bounce US informal to dismiss or be dismissed from a job

on the bounce informal in succession; one after the other they have lost nine games on the bounce

Word Origin for bounce

C13: probably of imitative origin; compare Low German bunsen to beat, Dutch bonken to thump

Idioms and Phrases with bounce

bounce

In addition to the idioms beginning with bounce

bounce around
bounce back

also see:

get the ax (bounce)
more bounce for the ounce
that's how the ball bounces

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bounce

verb (used without object), bounced, bounc·ing.

verb (used with object), bounced, bounc·ing.

noun

adverb

Verb Phrases

Origin of bounce

SYNONYMS FOR bounce

OTHER WORDS FROM bounce

Words nearby bounce

Example sentences from the Web for bounce

British Dictionary definitions for bounce

verb

noun

Word Origin for bounce

Idioms and Phrases with bounce

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bounce

verb (used without object), bounced, bounc·ing.

verb (used with object), bounced, bounc·ing.

noun

adverb

Verb Phrases

Origin of bounce

SYNONYMS FOR bounce

OTHER WORDS FROM bounce

Words nearby bounce

Words related to bounce

Example sentences from the Web for bounce

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for bounce

verb

noun

Word Origin for bounce

Idioms and Phrases with bounce

British Dictionary definitions for bounce