bounce
Americanverb (used without object)
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to spring back from a surface in a lively manner.
The ball bounced off the wall.
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to strike the ground or other surface, and rebound.
The ball bounced once before he caught it.
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to move or walk in a lively, exuberant, or energetic manner.
She bounced into the room.
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to move along in a lively manner, repeatedly striking the surface below and rebounding.
The box bounced down the stairs.
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to move about or enter or leave noisily or angrily (followed by around, about, out, out of, into, etc.).
He bounced out of the room in a huff.
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(of a check or the like) to fail to be honored by the bank against which it was drawn, due to lack of sufficient funds.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to bound and rebound.
to bounce a ball; to bounce a child on one's knee; to bounce a signal off a satellite.
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to refuse payment on (a check) because of insufficient funds.
The bank bounced my rent check.
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to give (a bad check) as payment.
That's the first time anyone bounced a check on me.
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Slang. to eject, expel, or dismiss summarily or forcibly.
noun
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a bound or rebound.
to catch a ball on the first bounce.
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a sudden spring or leap.
In one bounce he was at the door.
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ability to rebound; resilience.
This tennis ball has no more bounce.
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vitality; energy; liveliness.
There is bounce in his step. This soda water has more bounce to it.
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the fluctuation in magnitude of target echoes on a radarscope.
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Slang. a dismissal, rejection, or expulsion.
He's gotten the bounce from three different jobs.
adverb
verb phrase
verb
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(intr) (of an elastic object, such as a ball) to rebound from an impact
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(tr) to cause (such an object) to hit a solid surface and spring back
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to rebound or cause to rebound repeatedly
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to move or cause to move suddenly, excitedly, or violently; spring
she bounced up from her chair
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slang (of a bank) to send (a cheque) back or (of a cheque) to be sent back unredeemed because of lack of funds in the drawer's account
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(of an internet service provider) to send (an email message) back or (of an email message) to be sent back to the sender, for example because the recipient's email account is full
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slang (tr) to force (a person) to leave (a place or job); throw out; eject
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(tr) to hustle (a person) into believing or doing something
noun
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the action of rebounding from an impact
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a leap; jump; bound
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the quality of being able to rebound; springiness
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informal vitality; vigour; resilience
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swagger or impudence
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informal a temporary increase or rise
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Australian rules football the start of play at the beginning of each quarter or after a goal
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informal to dismiss or be dismissed from a job
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informal in succession; one after the other
they have lost nine games on the bounce
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bouncesimple
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bouncessimple
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have bouncedperfect
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has bouncedperfect
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am bouncingprogressive
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are bouncingprogressive
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is bouncingprogressive
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have been bouncingperfect progressive
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has been bouncingperfect progressive
Past
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bouncedsimple
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had bouncedperfect
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was bouncingprogressive
-
were bouncingprogressive
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had been bouncingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bounce
1175–1225; Middle English buncin, bounsen, variant of bunkin, apparently cognate with Dutch bonken to thump, belabor, bonzen to knock, bump
Explanation
Bounce is a word for an up and down movement or recovery — like a ball's bounce on the pavement or the stock market's rise after a crash. Bounce can be a noun or a verb. A basketball player bounces a ball on the floor and it springs back into her hand. Trampolines have a lot of bounce in them; that's why they are fun to jump on. Good dance music makes you want to bounce up and down. The phrase “bounce back” describes how you might recover after a bad situation. Did you slip and suffer a painful bounce on the floor? Some hot chocolate will help you "bounce back."
Vocabulary lists containing bounce
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Introductory
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Prof Robert Johns says there has been a "little bounce in the polls"
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Tech firms enjoyed a much-needed bounce on Thursday, helping most Asian stock markets higher amid renewed hopes for the AI boom.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
“I’ve watched the brand over the years sort of bounce around and not do anything,” Siegel said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
“It lasts much longer than a stomach bug where you’re sick for a day and you bounce back.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Dude, we gotta bounce before she makes us do laundry or something,” Sneaky says, taking his plate to the sink.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
Wimbledon, however, with its unpredictable footing and fickle bounces, has made her wait.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
"She was just really funny. It's not the type of funny that's just telling jokes, it's sibling banter that just bounces off each other – we're just one upping each other, like tennis," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The World Cup faces a massive logistical challenge: making sure the ball bounces and rolls exactly the same way across 16 different North American stadiums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
The question is whether that demand bounces back once the war ends.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
He bounces me on his knees and holds up one finger.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
U.S. stocks were slightly lower in cautious trading, as chip shares bounced back from last week’s bruising selloff and investors shrugged off a new Chinese AI model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
On Wednesday, the stock bounced 0.7% to get back to the $137 level in premarket trading.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Seoul led gains across Asian equity markets Wednesday as tech firms bounced back following a softer-than-expected US inflation print that soothed worries about a possible interest rate hike this month.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Adou Thiero bounced back from a wrist injury, scoring 20 points during the Lakers’ Las Vegas Summer League win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
But the angle was wrong, and the ball bounced off the hoop.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Evan Barker grew up lower-middle-class in Missouri, bouncing between her divorced mom and dad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Memory and chip stocks were bouncing Monday, with a Morgan Stanley analyst noting that the current cycle leaves room for “false flag” signals that may spook investors.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Without air molecules to slow them down, methane molecules move freely under the influence of gravity, bouncing across the surface as sunlight energizes them and colder temperatures reduce their speed.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
A bouncing Tuchel then pogos over to the 32-year-old to give him a hug and a viral moment is born, clocking up more than 40m views on social media.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
And then the footsteps march back to the shore, the jetty bouncing above our heads as the soldier steps back off it.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
