pounce

¹ American  

[pouns] / paʊns /

verb (used without object)

pounced, pouncing

1. to swoop down suddenly and grasp, as a bird does in seizing its prey.

2. to spring, dash, or come suddenly.

   Unexpectedly she pounced on the right answer.

---

verb (used with object)

pounced, pouncing

1. to seize (prey) suddenly.

   The bird quickly pounced its prey.

noun

1. the claw or talon of a bird of prey.

2. a sudden swoop, as on an object of prey.

   Synonyms:

   spring, lunge, leap

pounce ² American  

[pouns] / paʊns /

verb (used with object)

pounced, pouncing

1. to emboss (metal) by hammering on an instrument applied on the reverse side.

---

pounce ³ American  

[pouns] / paʊns /

noun

1. a fine powder, as of cuttlebone, formerly used to prevent ink from spreading in writing, or to prepare parchment for writing.

2. a fine powder, often of charcoal, used in transferring a design through a perforated pattern.

3. Also called pounce box.  Also called pounce bag,.  a small bag filled with pounce and struck against a perforated design.

---

verb (used with object)

pounced, pouncing

1. to sprinkle, smooth, or prepare with pounce.

2. to trace (a design) with pounce.

3. to finish the surface of (hats) by rubbing with sandpaper or the like.

pounce ¹ British  

/ paʊns /

noun

1. a very fine resinous powder, esp of cuttlefish bone, formerly used to dry ink or sprinkled over parchment or unsized writing paper to stop the ink from running

2. a fine powder, esp of charcoal, that is tapped through perforations in paper corresponding to the main lines of a design in order to transfer the design to another surface

3. ( as modifier )

   a pounce box

---

verb

1. to dust (paper) with pounce

2. to transfer (a design) by means of pounce

pounce ² British  

/ paʊns /

verb

1. (intr; often foll by on or upon) to spring or swoop, as in capturing prey

---

noun

1. the act of pouncing; a spring or swoop

2. the claw of a bird of prey

pounce ³ British  

/ paʊns /

verb

1. (tr) to emboss (metal) by hammering from the reverse side

---

Other Word Forms

• pouncer
  noun
• pouncingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of pounce¹

First recorded in 1375–1425 pounce ¹ ( for def. 4 ); late Middle English; perhaps akin to punch ¹

Origin of pounce²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pounsen, pounson, punchen, perhaps identical with pounce ¹

Origin of pounce³

First recorded in 1700–10; from French ponce, ultimately from Latin pūmic-, stem of pūmex pumice

Explanation

To pounce is to attack suddenly by leaping onto your prey. A tiger will slowly sneak up on its prey and then suddenly pounce, using speed as much as strength to make the kill. Of all the animals, cats are the best at pouncing. Snakes strike. Elephants charge. But when an animal leaps onto its prey, that's pouncing. When we talk about how people pounce, however, we're usually talking more figuratively. When we say that a person pounced on another person, we mean that they attacked viciously without warning — usually giving the victim no time to defend themselves. Lawyers pounce on witnesses, for example. If you feel suddenly ganged-up on, you might feel pounced upon.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pounce pounced pouncing

"I thought that was a time to pounce," Stokes said of the declaration.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

"Octopuses are like cats: they will sneak up on their prey and pounce, and they want to do so as fast as possible, so that they don't become preyed upon," Tse says.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026

Now, that date is just around the corner and the New England Patriots are the heavy favorites to pounce first.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

Many viewed this negotiating cycle as an opportunity to pounce on the increased visibility, and in a lot of ways, the union did.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026

He was low too, on the balls of his feet, ready to pounce.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

He used the scoop and reverse scoop early and effectively against Prasidh Krishna, then pounced when he had knocked the India seamers off their lengths, smashing Arshdeep Singh over mid-wicket for six.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Binance’s rivals pounced on its exit, with exchanges Coinbase and OKX, which both have EU licenses, offering bonuses to lure new customers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

Leading off the sixth inning, Ohtani pounced on a cutter that drifted toward the heart of the plate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

And when the ball rolled loose, Knicks superstar Jalen Brunson pounced.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Not finding them, she turned back in time to see a fox ripple like a ribbon as he pounced and sped off with the lemming.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

The French international was reduced to tears after pouncing on a Pope error to roll into an unguarded net.

From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026

The company has been monitoring social media for mentions of the Disney-YouTube TV stalemate and pouncing when anyone mentions DirecTV by answering questions and providing information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025

In a sweep-evading 8-2 win over the Padres at Petco Park on Sunday, the Dodgers got back to working better at-bats, manufacturing consistent baserunners, then pouncing on mistakes with their lineup’s trademark pop.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2025

Adapting to the slowness of the pitch, he played none of his trademark dabs to third man, instead pouncing to whip through the leg side any time England dropped short.

From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2024

They were flanking a car shaped like a big boot and another one that looked like a pouncing cat.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• leap