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.

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

Rybakina is guaranteed to overtake Sabalenka if she reaches the semi-finals, while Pegula and Gauff could pounce if they win the title.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 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

One day, during the show’s final season, Bernstein told him he’d better pounce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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

Now and then he’d get close enough to pounce on it.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson

California officials pounced on the small number of people alleged to have cast illegal ballots.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Now, with the Aussies back in town, Naicker maintains he would have pounced on the same "fluke" had it been South Africa caught cheating.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Instead Zverev pounced, breaking Shelton’s big serve in the first game of the match and squashing his momentum on a humid afternoon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 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

Dad came rushing down a moment later, and I was relieved when Mom pounced on his crooked tie, forgetting all about my tightlessness.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

In a 96-ball stay, Shadab expertly picked his moments to attack, pouncing when England erred.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

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

Their staple diet are deer, and they hunt by stealth often pouncing from trees or overhanging rocks.

From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026

He has the vision and instincts of an eagle, anticipating, reading and then pouncing and attacking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2025

Lloyd turned over, and I was alone with my terrible, pouncing thoughts.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• leap

---