Link Centre Dictionary

bounce

UK/baʊns/ US/buːns/ fairly common informal slang us
verb (7) noun (3)

verb

1.

spring back; spring away from an impact

  • “The rubber ball bounced”
  • “These particles do not resile but they unite after they collide”
Synonyms
2.

hit something so that it bounces

  • “bounce a ball”
3.

move up and down repeatedly

Synonyms
4.

come back after being refused

  • “the check bounced”
Antonyms
5.

leap suddenly

  • “He bounced to his feet”
6.

refuse to accept and send back

  • “bounce a check”
7.

eject from the premises

  • “The ex-boxer”

noun

1.

the quality of a substance that is able to rebound

Synonyms
2.
3.

rebounding from an impact (or series of impacts)

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English bounsen, bunsen (“to beat, thump”), cognate with Scots bunce, bonce (“to bounce”). Of uncertain origin. Perhaps imitative, related to bump, or related to Middle English bonchen (“to pound, beat”) and Dutch bonken (“to bump”). Compare Saterland Frisian bumzje (“to pound, bang, bounce”), West Frisian bûnzje (“to throb, bounce, pulsate”), Dutch bonzen (“to thump, knock, throb, bounce”), German Low German bunsen, bumsen (“to beat, bounce”), German bumsen (“to thud, bang, pound”).

Phrases

  • air bounce
  • Boris bounce
  • bounce around
  • bounce back
  • bounce house
  • bounce in
  • bounce into
  • bounce off
  • bounce off the walls
  • bounce on it
  • bounce rate
  • bounced cheque

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.