bounce around
Idioms-
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]
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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]
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.
“The brick is like a 3-D checkerboard,” he said, explaining that it’s made up of a patchwork of blocks and open chambers with small passages throughout the stack for the heat to bounce around.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 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
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
Hearing it bounce around the Beacon felt like a sanctioned rebellion.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2025
I just sort of let the words bounce around inside.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
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.
