pounce

¹ American  

[pauns] / 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  

[pauns] / 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  

[pauns] / 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, 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

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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

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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

There were familiar lapses in concentration defensively that gave Greece opportunities to pounce.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Herbert had to pounce on the loose ball and the threat was thwarted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

The moment to pounce came as Netflix fell 50% from a June 2025 high of $134 — the shares dropped to $67 in mid-June.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Sophisticated traders already use automated systems to monitor Truth Social and a review of trading data shows how quickly they pounce on the president’s comments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Plus, Edna might be around and ready to pounce.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

And credit must be due to Underwood for pulling off an undertaking where any little slip would be pounced on by critics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Pictures last week of the USS Abraham Lincoln docking in Thailand with a rusting hull after a gruelling nine months at sea in the Gulf were pounced on by Iran.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Tennessee’s flagship university paid $1.9 million to a professor it fired after Fox News pounced on her comments.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

It all felt eerily familiar: The Dodgers, the winner of the last two World Series titles, pounced on the best player available on the market in an all-out pursuit for another at any cost.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Hanako pounced on some bags, grabbing them up greedily.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

The fact that investors aren’t pouncing reflects a growing fear that some luxury brands’ best days are behind them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

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

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

Then, pouncing, it had aimed a blow of its great bill at Fiver, who just managed to dodge in time.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

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