pound

¹

[ pound ]

verb (used with object)

1. to strike repeatedly with great force, as with an instrument, the fist, heavy missiles, etc.
2. to produce or effect by striking or thumping, or in a manner resembling this (often followed by out ):

   to pound out a tune on the piano.

3. to force (a way) by battering; batter (often followed by down ):

   He pounded his way through the mob. He pounded the door down.

4. to crush into a powder or paste by beating repeatedly.

verb (used without object)

1. to strike heavy blows repeatedly:

   to pound on a door.

2. to beat or throb violently, as the heart.
3. to give forth a thumping sound:

   The drums pounded loudly.

4. to walk or go with heavy steps; move along with force or vigor.

noun

1. the act of pounding.
2. a heavy or forcible blow.
3. a thump.

pound

²

[ pound ]

noun

, plural pounds, (collectively) pound.

1. a unit of weight and of mass, varying in different periods and countries.
2. 1. (in English-speaking countries) an avoirdupois unit of weight equal to 7000 grains, divided into 16 ounces (0.453 kilogram), used for ordinary commerce. : lb., lb. av.
   2. a troy unit of weight, in the U.S. and formerly in Britain, equal to 5760 grains, divided into 12 ounces (0.373 kilogram), used for gold, silver, and other precious metals. : lb. t.
   3. (in the United States) an apothecaries' unit of weight equal to 5760 grains, divided into 12 ounces (0.373 kilogram). : lb. ap.
3. Also called pound sterling. a paper money, nickel-brass coin, and monetary unit of the United Kingdom formerly equal to 20 shillings or 240 pence: equal to 100 new pence after decimalization in Feb. 1971. : L; : £
4. any of the monetary units of various countries, as Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and of certain Commonwealth of Nations countries.
5. a monetary unit of Ireland until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 pence.
6. a monetary unit of Cyprus until the euro was adopted, equal to 100 cents.
7. Also called pound Scots. a former Scottish money of account, originally equal to the pound sterling but equal to only a twelfth of the pound sterling at the union of the crowns of England and Scotland in 1603.
8. (formerly) the Turkish lira.
9. a former monetary unit of Israel, Libya, and Nigeria.
10. pounds, Citizens Band Radio Slang. a meter reading in units of five decibels: used as a measure of loudness for incoming signals.

pound

³

[ pound ]

noun

1. an enclosure maintained by local government for confining stray or homeless animals:

   dog pound.

2. an enclosure for sheltering, keeping, or confining livestock, or for trapping wild animals.
3. an enclosure or trap for fish.
4. a place of confinement or imprisonment.
5. a place or area where cars or other vehicles are impounded, as those towed away for being illegally parked:

   I not only had to go all the way across town to the pound, but had to pay a killer fine.

6. reach ( def 26 ).

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to shut up in or as in a pound; impound; imprison.

Pound

⁴

[ pound ]

noun

1. Ezra Loo·mis [loo, -mis], 1885–1972, U.S. poet.
2. Louise, 1872–1958, U.S. scholar and linguist.
3. her brother Roscoe, 1870–1964, U.S. legal scholar and writer.

Pound

¹

/ paʊnd /

noun

1. PoundEzra (Loomis)18851972MUSWRITING: poetWRITING: translatorWRITING: critic Ezra ( Loomis ). 1885–1972, US poet, translator, and critic, living in Europe. Indicted for treason by the US government (1945) for pro-Fascist broadcasts during World War II, he was committed to a mental hospital until 1958. He was a founder of imagism and championed the early work of such writers as T. S. Eliot, Joyce, and Hemingway. His life work, the Cantos (1925–70), is an unfinished sequence of poems, which incorporates mythological and historical materials in several languages as well as political, economic, and autobiographical elements

pound

²

/ paʊnd /

verb

1. whenintr, often foll by on or at to strike heavily and often
2. tr to beat to a pulp; pulverize
3. tr to instil by constant drilling

   to pound Latin into him

4. trfoll byout to produce, as by typing heavily
5. to walk (the pavement, street, etc) repeatedly

   he pounded the pavement looking for a job

6. intr to throb heavily

noun

1. a heavy blow; thump
2. the act of pounding

pound

³

/ paʊnd /

noun

1. an enclosure, esp one maintained by a public authority, for keeping officially removed vehicles or distrained goods or animals, esp stray dogs
2. a place where people are confined
3. 1. a trap for animals
   2. a trap or keepnet for fish See pound net

verb

1. tr to confine in or as if in a pound; impound, imprison, or restrain

pound

⁴

/ paʊnd /

noun

1. an avoirdupois unit of weight that is divided into 16 ounces and is equal to 0.453 592 kilograms lb
2. a troy unit of weight divided into 12 ounces equal to 0.373 242 kilograms Abbreviationlb trlb t
3. an apothecaries' unit of weight, used in the US, that is divided into 5760 grains and is equal to one pound troy
4. not in technical usage a unit of force equal to the mass of 1 pound avoirdupois where the acceleration of free fall is 32.174 feet per second per second lbf
5. 1. the standard monetary unit of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and various UK overseas territories, divided into 100 pence Official namepound sterling
   2. ( as modifier )

      a pound coin

6. the standard monetary unit of the following countries
   1. Cyprus: divided into 100 cents
   2. Egypt: divided into 100 piastres
   3. Lebanon: divided into 100 piastres
   4. South Sudan: divided into 100 piastres
   5. Syria: divided into 100 piastres
7. See lira
   another name for lira
8. Also calledpound Scots a former Scottish monetary unit originally worth an English pound but later declining in value to 1 shilling 8 pence
9. Also calledpunt the former standard monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland, divided into 100 pence; replaced by the euro in 2002
10. a former monetary unit of the Sudan replaced by the dinar in 1992

pound

/ pound /

1. A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 16 ounces (0.45 kilograms).
2. See Table at measurementSee Note at weight

Derived Forms

• ˈpounder, noun

Other Words From

• pounder noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pound¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English pounen, ponne “to pulverize, crush, powder,” Old English pūnian “to pound, beat”; akin to Dutch puin “rubbish.” The final, unetymological -d appears in the16th century

Origin of pound²

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English pund (cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Gothic, Old Norse pund ), ultimately from Latin pondō “by weight, in weight” (adverb), in the phrase libra pondō “a pound by weight”; ponder, libra ¹

Origin of pound³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English poond; compare Late Old English pund- in pundfald “animal pound, fold;” pinfold; akin to pond

Word History and Origins

Origin of pound¹

Old English pūnian; related to Dutch puin rubble

Origin of pound²

C14: from Late Old English pund- as in pundfeald pinfold

Origin of pound³

Old English pund, from Latin pondō pound; related to German Pfund pound, Latin pondus weight

Idioms and Phrases

• in for a penny, in for a pound
• penny wise, pound foolish

Synonym Study

See beat.

Example Sentences

Soros Fund Management, the hedge fund still best known for “breaking” the Bank of England with its 1992 bet against the pound, has also tentatively returned to its roots.

From Ozy

Anything you can do to accelerate the rate of conventional breeding is going to reduce the environmental footprint of a glass of milk or a pound of meat.

From Singularity Hub 

Humans even hold their own, pound for pound, against other meat-eating animals.

From Science News For Students

In San Diego, between January and March, drug seizures of all kinds fell from 14,784 pounds to 4,901 pounds, though numbers have started to increase more recently.

From Voice of San Diego

Lower than 50 percent because food is more expensive, per pound, in restaurants.

From Freakonomics

Someone slipped me something while I was making Pound, and I had two choices—go to the hospital, or keep working.

From The Daily Beast

There only be nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety pound here.

From The Daily Beast

The news reports of the speech quoted that line, so it became the pound cake speech.

From The Daily Beast

A leopard seal is “about a thousand-pound animal with lots of teeth,” Perryman explains.

From The Daily Beast

Today, ivory prices are at record highs, having tripled since that 2008 auction, up to around $1,500 a pound.

From The Daily Beast

At this period it brought enormous prices, the finest selling at from fifteen to eighteen shillings per pound.

From Project Gutenberg

Body o' me, here's the remainder of seven pound since yesterday was seven-night!

From Project Gutenberg

The duty on importation had been only twopence per pound, a moderate sum in view of the prices realized by the sale of it.

From Project Gutenberg

In fact, I'm nothing but a quarter of a pound of 'plain,' and the price isn't worth mentioning.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes a piece weighing nearly a pound is found, and a weight of even ten pounds is recorded.

From Project Gutenberg