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:
U.S. stock-index futures were little changed on Sunday, as investors ponder the likelihood of a fresh interest-rate hike and look ahead to fresh labor data and tech earnings this week.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 30, 2026
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
It leaves the rest of us to ponder what might become of this England team.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 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
“If you’re asking me whether I ponder my death every day,” she said to the woman, as politely as she could, “the answer is no.”
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Signs Honda are on the right track are what Alonso has been looking for as he ponders whether to stay in the sport beyond the end of the season.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Yet the music reflects an emotional wisdom that had to be earned through experience, as in the folky “Time,” which ponders her and Roach’s relationships with their two adult sons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
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
“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
Dede ponders, rewinding back to the exact moment when she belted that ball.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
It’s a question frazzled shoppers have pondered for years, wondering whether a few shots would help steel them for Black Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
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
Some have pondered if a subtlety here may be that the vetting advice wasn't definitive in its judgement, but the Foreign Office concluded it amounted to Lord Mandelson failing it and others did not.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
Treasury yields settled little changed as Wall Street pondered the risk of a prolonged conflict in Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
While the other gods feasted, Odin pondered on what Thought and Memory taught him.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
With one hike delivered and one more likely to come this year, investors are pondering the likely pace of further tightening.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
I’ve been pondering AI since its transformative nature was fully impressed on my consciousness years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
And Aaron Donald, one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history, is pondering coming out of retirement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
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
Why does she spend her time pondering something she’ll never be able to do?
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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.
