bounce
Americanverb (used without object)
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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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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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a bound or rebound.
to catch a ball on the first bounce.
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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
- bounceable adjective
- bounceably adverb
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
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.
Still, market strategists cautioned that the bounce in stocks could represent only a temporary reprieve for investors.
From MarketWatch
You want to follow verbal instructions but your brain bounces to something else.
He took off on a designed running play from the 12-yard line, accelerated and bounced off several defenders before diving into the end zone, thrusting the ball over his head to score.
From Los Angeles Times
The two-day surge in equities helped recover most of the stock market’s sharp losses on Tuesday as tensions between the U.S. and its European allies eased and upbeat economic data sparked a broad-based bounce.
From MarketWatch
While there was a brief and sharp bounce last week amid some large institutional purchases, bitcoin quickly pulled back after some expected progress on pro-crypto regulation didn’t happen.
From MarketWatch
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.
