ponder
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has ponderedperfect 3rd person singular
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have ponderedperfect
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is ponderingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am ponderingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been ponderingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are ponderingprogressive
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have been ponderingperfect progressive
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ponderssingular 3rd person
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ponderingparticiple
Past
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had ponderedperfect
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was ponderingprogressive singular
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had been ponderingperfect progressive
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were ponderingprogressive plural
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ponderedsimple
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ponderedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of ponder
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pondren, from Middle French ponderer, from Latin ponderāre “to weigh, reflect on,” derivative of pondus “weight”; akin to pendēre “to be suspended, hang” ( see pend)
Explanation
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary" is the first line of Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven. Many a deep thinker has repeated it while musing. But if you've given up deep thinking, you may say instead, "Nevermore." Think of ponder as reflecting on weighty thoughts. It will help you remember the definition if you can remember the word's Latin roots. It comes from ponderare, which literally meant to weigh, and pondus, which means weight. People sometimes use the word ironically, for example, when someone asks you to do something you really don't want to do. You may tap your chin for a second and say, "Let me ponder that." Pause. "Um, no!"
Vocabulary lists containing ponder
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The bold prediction raises an interesting issue, insofar as investors must ponder what will happen to the market after an influential bank tells clients to prepare for higher all-time highs.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
“A consumer in the Charter package doesn’t have to ponder whether a particular streaming service does or doesn’t have a particular show worth watching.”
From MarketWatch • May 28, 2026
You wouldn’t necessarily call “What a Time” a concept album, though many of the songs ponder the ways memory and history can shape a romance.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
With their season now at a close, it will be a long summer for Ulster's players and staff to ponder what went wrong from a campaign that once promised so much.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
I didn’t have time to ponder that too deeply, though, because Renee spoke again.
From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
