bounce

American  

[bauns] / baʊns /

verb (used without object)

• bounces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bounced,
  past participle,  past
• bouncing
  present participle

1. to spring back from a surface in a lively manner.

   The ball bounced off the wall.

2. to strike the ground or other surface, and rebound.

   The ball bounced once before he caught it.

3. to move or walk in a lively, exuberant, or energetic manner.

   She bounced into the room.

4. to move along in a lively manner, repeatedly striking the surface below and rebounding.

   The box bounced down the stairs.

5. 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.

6. (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.

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verb (used with object)

• bounces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bounced,
  past participle,  past
• bouncing
  present participle

1. 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.

2. to refuse payment on (a check) because of insufficient funds.

   The bank bounced my rent check.

3. to give (a bad check) as payment.

   That's the first time anyone bounced a check on me.

4. Slang. to eject, expel, or dismiss summarily or forcibly.

noun

• bounces
  plural

1. a bound or rebound.

   to catch a ball on the first bounce.

2. a sudden spring or leap.

   In one bounce he was at the door.

3. ability to rebound; resilience.

   This tennis ball has no more bounce.

4. vitality; energy; liveliness.

   There is bounce in his step. This soda water has more bounce to it.

   Synonyms:

   zip, vigor, pep, spirit, life, vivacity, animation

5. the fluctuation in magnitude of target echoes on a radarscope.

6. Slang. a dismissal, rejection, or expulsion.

   He's gotten the bounce from three different jobs.

adverb

1. with a bounce; suddenly.

verb phrase

1. bounce back to recover quickly.

   After losing the first game of the double-header, the team bounced back to win the second.

bounce British  

/ baʊns /

verb

1. (intr) (of an elastic object, such as a ball) to rebound from an impact

2. (tr) to cause (such an object) to hit a solid surface and spring back

3. to rebound or cause to rebound repeatedly

4. to move or cause to move suddenly, excitedly, or violently; spring

   she bounced up from her chair

5. 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

6. (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

7. slang (tr) to force (a person) to leave (a place or job); throw out; eject

8. (tr) to hustle (a person) into believing or doing something

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noun

1. the action of rebounding from an impact

2. a leap; jump; bound

3. the quality of being able to rebound; springiness

4. informal vitality; vigour; resilience

5. swagger or impudence

6. informal a temporary increase or rise

7. Australian rules football the start of play at the beginning of each quarter or after a goal

8. informal to dismiss or be dismissed from a job

9. informal in succession; one after the other

   they have lost nine games on the bounce

bounce Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bounce

• get the ax (bounce)
• more bounce for the ounce
• that's how the ball bounces

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rebounce
  verb
• bounceable
  adjective
• bounceably
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bounces
  plural

Participles

• bouncing
  present
• bounced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bounce
  simple
• bounces
  simple
• have bounced
  perfect
• has bounced
  perfect
• am bouncing
  progressive
• are bouncing
  progressive
• is bouncing
  progressive
• have been bouncing
  perfect progressive
• has been bouncing
  perfect progressive

Past

• bounced
  simple
• had bounced
  perfect
• was bouncing
  progressive
• were bouncing
  progressive
• had been bouncing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bounce
  simple
• will have bounced
  perfect
• will be bouncing
  progressive
• will have been bouncing
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bounce bounces bounced bouncing

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

It is also one of the places where the determination to bounce back has been most visible.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

The winless Buccaneers are better than their start, and they should have a bounce back at home after an embarrassing loss to Cleveland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Now they have worsened to the state that they are in deeply oversold territory, which might suggest a bounce may be needed before declines can resume.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

He understood that light would pass through the thin layers and bounce off the white lead.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

But here, in a backyard on Cimarron Street on the last Saturday in July, conversation bounces from table to table, mouth to mouth, and the harmony of the day falls into place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Honesty around line calls, double bounces and double-hits.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Dick’s decided to match competitors’ discounts to maintain market share when the market bounces back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The question is whether that demand bounces back once the war ends.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

Still, we’re slammed back into our seats, and everything bounces.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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

"This is called back-energy transfer: it means that the energy that would have been emitted by the erbium ions as green light instead gets bounced back to the ytterbium relay and never reaches the surface."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Although younger acts bounced back the following year, veterans were still a formidable presence on the road.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Mestemaker, who played for Morris last season at North Texas, bounced back from a poor performance in the opener.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

She bounced a stuffed tiger on her lap.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

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

Houston’s defense is really strong, but I like Daniel Jones and the Colts bouncing back from their overtime loss and holding serve at home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 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

Eddie had been impatiently bouncing a red rubber ball.

From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

• bound
• bump
• carom
• hop
• jump
• leap
• rebound
• ricochet