bounce
Americanverb (used without object)
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bounces,
present (3rd person singular)
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bounced,
past participle, past
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bouncing
present participle
-
to spring back from a surface in a lively manner.
The ball bounced off the wall.
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to strike the ground or other surface, and rebound.
The ball bounced once before he caught it.
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to move or walk in a lively, exuberant, or energetic manner.
She bounced into the room.
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to move along in a lively manner, repeatedly striking the surface below and rebounding.
The box bounced down the stairs.
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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.
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(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)
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bounces,
present (3rd person singular)
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bounced,
past participle, past
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bouncing
present participle
-
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.
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to refuse payment on (a check) because of insufficient funds.
The bank bounced my rent check.
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to give (a bad check) as payment.
That's the first time anyone bounced a check on me.
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Slang. to eject, expel, or dismiss summarily or forcibly.
noun
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bounces
plural
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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.
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ability to rebound; resilience.
This tennis ball has no more bounce.
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vitality; energy; liveliness.
There is bounce in his step. This soda water has more bounce to it.
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the fluctuation in magnitude of target echoes on a radarscope.
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Slang. a dismissal, rejection, or expulsion.
He's gotten the bounce from three different jobs.
adverb
verb phrase
verb
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(intr) (of an elastic object, such as a ball) to rebound from an impact
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(tr) to cause (such an object) to hit a solid surface and spring back
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to rebound or cause to rebound repeatedly
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to move or cause to move suddenly, excitedly, or violently; spring
she bounced up from her chair
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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
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(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
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slang (tr) to force (a person) to leave (a place or job); throw out; eject
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(tr) to hustle (a person) into believing or doing something
noun
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the action of rebounding from an impact
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a leap; jump; bound
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the quality of being able to rebound; springiness
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informal vitality; vigour; resilience
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swagger or impudence
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informal a temporary increase or rise
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Australian rules football the start of play at the beginning of each quarter or after a goal
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informal to dismiss or be dismissed from a job
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informal in succession; one after the other
they have lost nine games on the bounce
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bouncesimple
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bouncessimple
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have bouncedperfect
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has bouncedperfect
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am bouncingprogressive
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are bouncingprogressive
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is bouncingprogressive
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have been bouncingperfect progressive
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has been bouncingperfect progressive
Past
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bouncedsimple
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had bouncedperfect
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was bouncingprogressive
-
were bouncingprogressive
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had been bouncingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bounce
1175–1225; Middle English buncin, bounsen, variant of bunkin, apparently cognate with Dutch bonken to thump, belabor, bonzen to knock, bump
Explanation
Bounce is a word for an up and down movement or recovery — like a ball's bounce on the pavement or the stock market's rise after a crash. Bounce can be a noun or a verb. A basketball player bounces a ball on the floor and it springs back into her hand. Trampolines have a lot of bounce in them; that's why they are fun to jump on. Good dance music makes you want to bounce up and down. The phrase “bounce back” describes how you might recover after a bad situation. Did you slip and suffer a painful bounce on the floor? Some hot chocolate will help you "bounce back."
Vocabulary lists containing bounce
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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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:
"Studying how quark wakes bounce back and forth will give us new insights on the quark-gluon plasma's properties," Lee says.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
A DIY art space, a bounce house wonderland and a cat cafe are just a few of the places where you can get your kawaii fix around town.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The IPO market is notoriously finicky and could yet bounce back this year if investor sentiment or market conditions improve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
You probably knew Pep Guardiola's Manchester City won three League Cups on the bounce between 2018 and 2020 before adding a fourth in 2021 – but another side did the silverware hat-trick first.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The box lands with a soft bounce and the door slides opens.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
"Christian bounces across in front of people where they can't lay a finger on him," Red Bulls head coach Dan McFarland told BBC Sport.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
When there are unknowns about how an industry will metabolize certain technological changes, they want to hire someone who bounces back from mistakes and takes setbacks in stride.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
She will tear up, and moments later throw her head back with an explosive laugh that bounces off the studio walls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Fluky bounces can swing series and the winningest teams from the regular season can just as easily get swept in the first round as the wild card clubs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Then he bounces away and up to Calvin for more pats.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
Retail-investor appetite for technology-sector ETFs has bounced back, the chart from JPMorgan strategists shows.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Oil prices, which fell more than two percent Friday on news of the offer, bounced back at the start of the new week, with Brent back above $106 a barrel.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
The ball bounced off the opposing outfielder’s glove and plopped over the wall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Starting over again, in these two games with McDaniel, Herbert has thrown for a modest 401 yards, just two touchdowns and three interceptions — though one of them bounced off David Njoku’s hands Sunday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
She bounced up and down, her eyes positively dancing.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“I was just kind of bouncing around, like just being a little bit of everything,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Both teams had an underwhelming season opener before bouncing back last week, and Sunday's game in Denver gave them an opportunity to show their title credentials.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
My favorite detail is that his last dinger came at Georgia Tech—and even then it required the ball bouncing off the outfielder’s glove to clear the fence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
While chip stocks were bouncing on Tuesday and software stocks were ceding some ground, neither move unwinds the extent of Monday’s performance.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
“They’re bouncing on their beds, Humphrey. Not supposed to do that, either,” he said.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
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.
