ponder
Americanverb (used without object)
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ponders,
present (3rd person singular)
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pondered,
past participle, past
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pondering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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ponders,
present (3rd person singular)
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pondered,
past participle, past
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pondering
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pondersimple
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ponderssimple
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have ponderedperfect
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has ponderedperfect
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am ponderingprogressive
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are ponderingprogressive
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is ponderingprogressive
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have been ponderingperfect progressive
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has been ponderingperfect progressive
Past
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ponderedsimple
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had ponderedperfect
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was ponderingprogressive
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were ponderingprogressive
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had been ponderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ponder
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pondren, from Middle French ponderer, from Latin ponderāre “to weigh, reflect on,” derivative of pondus “weight”; akin to pendēre “to be suspended, hang” ( see pend)
Explanation
"Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary" is the first line of Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven. Many a deep thinker has repeated it while musing. But if you've given up deep thinking, you may say instead, "Nevermore." Think of ponder as reflecting on weighty thoughts. It will help you remember the definition if you can remember the word's Latin roots. It comes from ponderare, which literally meant to weigh, and pondus, which means weight. People sometimes use the word ironically, for example, when someone asks you to do something you really don't want to do. You may tap your chin for a second and say, "Let me ponder that." Pause. "Um, no!"
Vocabulary lists containing ponder
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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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:
And AI is forcing us all to ponder: What are we supposed to do with our elongated lives if technology wipes out the jobs that once gave us purpose?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Plenty for the new Test coach - and English cricket - to ponder.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Watching Maxine ponder her options is particularly affecting, especially in the moments when she tries — and sometimes fails — to reach her daughter, Eden, over the phone.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Plan 75” eschewed dystopian-thriller conventions to ponder how Japan might one day treat its senior citizens, viewing them as little more than a drain on resources.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
It did not occur to young Mariam to ponder the unfairness of apologizing for the manner of her own birth.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
In his weekly Flow Show strategy note, Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett ponders the likelihood of Warsh imposing a rate hike to calm the long end of the Treasury curve.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
When Carney has the chance to move anywhere in the world he wants, he ponders the appeal of fresh air.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
“In the Mouth of Madness” ponders just how powerful media — and our relationship to it — can be, and Neill gives an electrifying turn as a man caught up in a myth made real.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Drawing on facts and clues that Kaede learns from the news and her own snooping, Grandfather ponders solutions in the sanctuary of his library.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
He ponders his coffee and resolves the issue.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
McElwee has often pondered the downside of essentially treating himself like a human camera, observing the world rather than fully engaging in it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
They all pondered what the items revealed about two people who dominated politics here for so long.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Lewis admitted some of the witness stories were compelling and "would have an effect" on him as he pondered them before his rational self took over.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
The question that Barclays analyst Dan Levy pondered on Tuesday was, of course, why?
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
As Roy rode away on his bike, he pondered the possibility that Mullet Fingers was better off roaming the woods than living at home with a witch for a mother.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
The Schwab strategists began pondering this three years ago as what they called the “great moderation” era — two decades of disinflation, suppressed volatility and reduced supply shocks — was over.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
“My girlfriend and I were pondering over the trip for a couple months, but we decided against it until recently,” Timmons said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Instead, they are in tatters, without a captain and pondering a future without one of their greatest ever players.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
He was known to enjoy pondering economic minutiae while taking lengthy baths to relieve back problems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
As he was pondering that thought, the outhouse started bumping and bouncing like a bucking bronco.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
