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• ponce
  ponce

  noun

  a pimp.
• Ponce
  Ponce

  noun

  a seaport in S Puerto Rico.

ponce

¹ American  

[pons] / pɒns /

noun

British Slang.

• ponces
  plural

1. a pimp.

2. a campily effeminate male.

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Ponce ² American  

[pawn-se] / ˈpɔn sɛ /

noun

1. a seaport in S Puerto Rico.

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ponce ¹ British  

/ pɒns /

noun

1. a man given to ostentatious or effeminate display in manners, speech, dress, etc

2. another word for pimp 1

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verb

1. (intr; often foll by around or about) to act like a ponce

Ponce ² British  

/ ˈpɔnθe /

noun

1. a port in S Puerto Rico, on the Caribbean: the second largest town on the island; settled in the 16th century. Pop: 185 930 (2003 est)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ponces
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ponce

First recorded in 1870–75; of obscure origin

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ponce Ponce ponces

Ms. Conner added, “We also have ponce, my favorite. It’s the pig stomach. It tastes like a big, giant sausage.”

From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2020

It’s also – with three female leads running the country as the men ponce about in big wigs – a prime example of what movies might look like post #MeToo.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 18, 2018

If there was someone I liked, I’d worm my way under his nose, then, well, ponce about until he noticed me: peacocking.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 4, 2017

Stand-up – at the risk of sounding like a total ponce – is an ephemeral experience that occupies the space between comic and audience.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 31, 2010

I know a good many places where Amen should be scratched out, rubbed over with ponce made of Momus’s little finger bones, and in its place Twang-dillo-dee written.

From Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends by John Keats

Diles reclines comfortably on the instrumental configuration that makes so many rock bands sing: acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and the cool, angular drumming of Raúl Ponce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

When the slumming Ponce, who lives somewhere else and who picked up a semblance of education, tries to explain that all earthly agriculture is reliant on bees, he gets blowback.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Rosa Thurnher, owner of El Ponce restaurant and a board member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition, said businesses have noticed changes in tipping behaviour since World Cup fans arrived.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

But according to Ponce, it was enough to land her on the streets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026

‘Tes you are, cuz Vera’s husband is waiting for you at Ponce de Leon Restaurant, you know that restaurant, doncha? That place by 116th and Lex?”

From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez

A vote for Bregetables Speaking of gullible middle-class foodie ponces: on Sunday I needed some special mushrooms.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 23, 2016

I'm 72, but I'm painting, sculpting, making little boxes that the art ponces call cabinets of curiosities, making photographs.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 25, 2010