bounce

American  

[bouns] / 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

Despite that, local issues are also highlighted and debated and there can often be a by-election bounce for the local community, as public money suddenly gets spent on things.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The latest bounce has been helped by some bargain-buying and government measures to stabilise retail investor volatility, as well as strong earnings reports from market heavyweights including Amazon, Microsoft and more recently CoreWeave.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Burnham is enjoying a bounce, but faces tough decisions about how to manage Britain’s rising welfare costs and bolster the country’s economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Ultimately, in the medium to long term, “these condos will bounce back,” Levitch said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Then I bounce backward until I’m leaning against the wall behind my pillows and facing Mom in the doorway.

From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner

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

Wimbledon, however, with its unpredictable footing and fickle bounces, has made her wait.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

"She was just really funny. It's not the type of funny that's just telling jokes, it's sibling banter that just bounces off each other – we're just one upping each other, like tennis," he said.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

Here she is, Uhmma says and bounces me in her arms.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

Díaz bounced back by striking out Christian Yelich.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Interviews with victims in the hospital were brief and stymied by officials who repeatedly bounced AFP journalists between different offices to seek approval.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The U.S. stock market sits just a fraction below record highs after another slide — on renewed valuation concerns about AI companies — triggered an even faster rally, as chips and hyperscaler plays bounced.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Many of the fund’s biggest holdings bounced back after reports that the portfolio had been sold to another, larger firm last week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

The gnome bounced eagerly in front of me, hoping to carry another message.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

Dominik Szoboszlai and Trey Nyoni, Liverpool's preferred deeper midfield duo in pre-season, drop to show for the ball, bouncing it towards wide players in space.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

In afternoon trading Monday, the yen was hovering around 157 to the dollar, bouncing back from a pre-intervention low of almost 164—the weakest the currency had been since 1986.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

The effect is similar to sound bouncing off a wall and producing an echo.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Loki’s movie misdeeds get him “removed from the timeline of history,” and in the “Loki” spinoff TV show, he faces his past while bouncing through time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 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