bounce around

Idioms  

1. Move around from one person or place to another. For example, The staff spent the morning bouncing around ideas to improve sales , or She had been bouncing around from one job to another . This term alludes to a ball bouncing among players. [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s]

2. Treat roughly or unfairly, as in Quit bouncing me around; I won't stand for it . This usage is based on a somewhat earlier meaning of bounce , “to beat up” or “coerce.” ] Slang ; c. 1970]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bounce around

Though those categories make up about 20% of the index, they often bounce around because of weather, geopolitical events and other one-offs that might not reflect underlying economic trends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

“You’re definitely going to have people kind of wanting to capitalize on any sort of pop that occurs, so trading could definitely bounce around quite a bit,” Smith said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

The Oscars date tends to bounce around a bit anyway, but one of the reasons it's a bit later this year is the Academy usually tries to avoid being too close to the Winter Olympics.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026

I’ll have to bounce around a little, but don’t worry: I’ll try to keep it to the past 425 years.

From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025

I mean, it’s not like I thought they were really looking at me—it was just a funny thought I’d bounce around for no particular reason.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

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