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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

"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

Lurking below the frontrunners are a host of superstars eager to pounce at the weekend.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

While the other candidates pressed their palms against the podiums, ready to pounce on every question, Becerra clasped his hands like an altar boy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

As soon as Ike and Felix stood under the tree with Ravi, they were going to pounce.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

But Ruiz pounced on the rebound and deflected a shot past defender Timothy Castagne and into the back of the net.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 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

But Cobolli grew into the occasion in the second and pounced on a pair of Zverev double-faults to secure a decisive break of serve.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

Both players started slowly in the blustery conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier before Canada's Auger-Aliassime pounced at 5-4 to wrap up the opening set.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

Then the piano keys trilled and the guitar and bass and drums pounced on the downbeat and I forgot all about Vonetta, the record needle, and getting in trouble.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Torbjörn Törnqvist has just struck one of the deals of his lifetime, pouncing on the overseas operations of Lukoil soon after the Russian oil producer was hit with U.S. sanctions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025

Rublev cruised through the opening set before pouncing on Fearnley's serve at 4-5 to book his spot in the second round.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2025

He hit the post with a header as Wolves searched for an equaliser at 1-0 down, then finished neatly after pouncing on Joel Latibeaudiere's mis-control.

From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2024

Escobar dominated the final City match of his career the way he dominated every other, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake and pouncing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2024

Or get bottle-fed, if you’re a small blind kitten with a white dot between your eyes that only needs a little extra love to become a pouncing, lively mouser.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Related Words

• leap