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

"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

Still, dozens of drivers crept around the lot, hoping to pounce if someone pulled out.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026

To do it right, brands need to be among the first to pounce on a potentially viral mishap, said Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

Mrs. O'Leary growled and got ready to pounce.

From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan

A Wall Street Journal review of trading data shows how quickly some traders have pounced on the president’s online comments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

The hosts pounced quickly on unsettled Irish nerves when Pietsch scored in the third minute after the home side's attack was kept alive by Campbell's pick-up and quick pass.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

So the U.S., which desperately needed a fast, technical, two-footed No. 9, pounced, getting Balogun to withdraw from England’s U21 training camp to make a secret visit to Florida.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Wolf pounced on Torak, nearly knocking him over Torak laughed and gave him a handful of blackberries from his food pouch.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Our reporting shows how Wall Street is already pouncing on his comments in fractions of a second, swinging energy and industrial stocks before everyday investors can even refresh their feeds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Ivory Coast found themselves two goals behind after just 21 minutes in Marrakesh, with Guelor Kanga pouncing on a handling error by goalkeeper Alban Lafont to put Gabon in front.

From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 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