ponder
Americanverb (used without object)
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ponders,
present (3rd person singular)
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pondered,
past participle, past
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pondering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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ponders,
present (3rd person singular)
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pondered,
past participle, past
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pondering
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pondersimple
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ponderssimple
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have ponderedperfect
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has ponderedperfect
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am ponderingprogressive
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are ponderingprogressive
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is ponderingprogressive
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have been ponderingperfect progressive
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has been ponderingperfect progressive
Past
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ponderedsimple
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had ponderedperfect
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was ponderingprogressive
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were ponderingprogressive
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had been ponderingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
And AI is forcing us all to ponder: What are we supposed to do with our elongated lives if technology wipes out the jobs that once gave us purpose?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
That’s why experts urge people of all ages to think ahead and ponder their end-of-life wishes while they’re still healthy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
England's attacking style in their opening World Cup win against Croatia in Dallas created a stir of excitement but still left head coach Thomas Tuchel with questions to ponder.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
I’d wager that most people seldom sit by themselves and ponder what makes them tick, what causes their engines to rev, or why they like that one specific thing.
From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026
There was so little time to ponder right and wrong, when I hardly even knew where I was.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Yet the music reflects an emotional wisdom that had to be earned through experience, as in the folky “Time,” which ponders her and Roach’s relationships with their two adult sons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
In his weekly Flow Show strategy note, Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett ponders the likelihood of Warsh imposing a rate hike to calm the long end of the Treasury curve.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“In the Mouth of Madness” ponders just how powerful media — and our relationship to it — can be, and Neill gives an electrifying turn as a man caught up in a myth made real.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
The author ponders whether Offa’s name is a contraction of Osfrith—his father was Thingfrith and his son was Ecgfrith.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
She ponders the transmigrations from the southern latitudes, the millions moving north.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
They all pondered what the items revealed about two people who dominated politics here for so long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Lewis admitted some of the witness stories were compelling and "would have an effect" on him as he pondered them before his rational self took over.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
For months, the senior U.S. senator from Montana pondered his political future.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
The question that Barclays analyst Dan Levy pondered on Tuesday was, of course, why?
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
My own thoughts were at war within me as I pondered what Hamlet and I had done.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
And Aaron Donald, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, is pondering coming out of retirement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
The Schwab strategists began pondering this three years ago as what they called the “great moderation” era — two decades of disinflation, suppressed volatility and reduced supply shocks — was over.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
Ms. Waters’s documentary will set one pondering, then reaching for the bookshelf, or perhaps walking out into the woods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
As “Contapposto” arrives at its beautiful, life-affirming conclusion, we are left pondering the significance of artistic endeavor in a world that commodifies everything, including our bodies and brains.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
But instead of finding sad and mournful people pondering all the ways that others annihilate themselves, Petey found the Rude boys lurking around the front of the cafe.
From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby
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.
