abound
Americanverb (used without object)
-
abounds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abounded,
past participle, past
-
abounding
present participle
-
to occur or exist in great quantities or numbers.
a stream in which trout abound.
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to be rich or well supplied (usually followed byin ).
The region abounds in coal.
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to be filled; teem (usually followed bywith ).
The ship abounds with rats.
verb
-
to exist or occur in abundance; be plentiful
a swamp in which snakes abound
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to be plentifully supplied (with); teem (with)
the gardens abound with flowers
the fields abound in corn
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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aboundsimple
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aboundssimple
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have aboundedperfect
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has aboundedperfect
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am aboundingprogressive
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are aboundingprogressive
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is aboundingprogressive
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have been aboundingperfect progressive
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has been aboundingperfect progressive
Past
-
aboundedsimple
-
had aboundedperfect
-
was aboundingprogressive
-
were aboundingprogressive
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had been aboundingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abound
1325–75; Middle English abounden < Latin abundāre to overflow, equivalent to ab- ab- + undāre to move in waves; see undulate
Explanation
When things abound, there are a lot of them. In spring, birds, flowers, rain, and frisbees abound. This word has to do with an abundance of something. In cities like Buffalo, NY, snow abounds. In very hot weather, insects and suntan lotion abound. Dogs are happy at the park when squirrels abound — meaning there are a lot of squirrels. On the moon, rocks abound, but that's about it.
Vocabulary lists containing abound
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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.
See Examples For:
Stories abound of local townspeople seeing energy bills soar when they are asked to foot the bill for the infrastructure needed to power new data centres, or finding their already stretched water supplies further diminished.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
Symbols of neglect and urban decay abound in artist Sayre Gomez’s “Precious Moments” at David Kordansky Gallery, on view through March 1.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The disaster has claimed over 4,000 lives and injured almost 17,000 more people, and questions about the economic impact abound.
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
Wonders abound within the confines of these fences.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
Afros abound, music's playing through the intercom, and a river of students swirls around us.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Optimism abounds, even on the city website, which promotes it as “one of the fastest growing suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Trading apps have replaced bucket shops, but Wall Street abounds with eerie parallels to 1901.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
On YouTube, the very same platform hosting Duffy’s vapid post-vacation slideshow, content abounds showing soccer lovers’ appreciation for our fast-food joints, rowdy dance clubs and ranch dressing.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Speculation about the president’s health, and how he is aging, abounds.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2026
The literature of veterinary medicine abounds in similar examples: swine eating sprayed cockleburs with consequent severe illness, lambs eating sprayed thistles, bees poisoned by pasturing on mustard sprayed after it came into bloom.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
After Kirk died, Amor said, she had questions as conspiracy theories abounded online.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Before the offering, predictions abounded that SpaceX would be too big for the stock market to handle.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Speculation and backlash abounded in early January, when online sleuths got wind of someone making nearly half a million dollars on Maduro's seizure.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
“I operated five venues in the pandemic, and conversations abounded like ‘Is this the death of live experiences?’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
There were wax candles in massive brass candelabra, burning softly under yellow silk shades; full, fragrant roses, yellow and red, abounded.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
With conversations already bubbling up in response to public sentiment about AI and doom and gloom predictions abounding, here’s what to know.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Despite theories abounding as to how he got there, police say there is no evidence at this point to suggest a crime has been committed.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026
Psalm 103: “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2025
We live in a land of abounding quackeries and if we do not learn how to laugh, we succumb to the melancholy disease which afflicts the race of viewers-with-alarm.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2024
My willingness to do so was hampered by an abounding ignorance of how it should be done and a fumbling awkwardness with small objects.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
