ounce

¹ American  

[ouns] / aʊns /

noun

1. a unit of weight equal to 437.5 grains or 1/16 pound (28.35 grams) avoirdupois.

2. a unit of 480 grains, 1/12 pound (31.1 grams) troy or apothecaries' weight.

3. a fluid ounce.

4. a small quantity or portion.

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ounce ² American  

[ouns] / aʊns /

noun

1. snow leopard.

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ounce ¹ British  

/ aʊns /

noun

1. another name for snow leopard

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ounce ² British  

/ aʊns /

noun

1.  oz.  a unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound (avoirdupois); 1 ounce is equal to 437.5 grains or 28.349 grams

2. a unit of weight equal to one twelfth of a Troy or Apothecaries' pound; 1 ounce is equal to 480 grains or 31.103 grams

3. short for fluid ounce

4. a small portion or amount

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ounce Scientific  

/ ouns /

1. A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 1/16 of a pound or 437.5 grains (28.35 grams).

2. See Table at measurement

3. See fluid ounce

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ounce Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing ounce

• more bang for the buck (bounce for the ounce)

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Etymology

Origin of ounce¹

1350–1400; Middle English unce < Middle French < Latin uncia twelfth part, inch, ounce, derivative of unus one

Origin of ounce²

1300–50; Middle English unce lynx < Anglo-French; Old French once, variant of lonce (erroneously taken as l'once the ounce) < Vulgar Latin *luncea, derivative of Latin lync- (stem of lynx ) lynx

Example Sentences

In early trading, New York futures rose 1.6% to $4,752.70 an ounce and are on track for a weekly gain of more than 4%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

UBS has an end-of-year gold target of $5,600 per ounce, based primarily on the assumption that investors will continue to want to diversify their portfolios with purchases of the precious metal.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026

Gold futures resumed their downward momentum after briefly pausing to climb over $4,500 a troy ounce Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Continuous gold futures rose 3.7% to $4,563 per ounce, on track to snap a 5-day losing streak.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

When gold had been trading around $650 an ounce for the past two years, an option to buy it for $2,000 an ounce anytime during the next ten years might well be badly underpriced.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis