bounce

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To change the direction of motion after hitting an obstacle.
2. (intransitive) To move quickly up and then down (or vice versa), once or repeatedly.
3. (transitive) To cause to move quickly up and down, or back and forth, once or repeatedly.
4. (colloquial, transitive) To suggest or introduce (an idea, etc.) to (off or by) someone, in order to gain feedback.
5. (intransitive) To leap or spring suddenly or unceremoniously; to bound.
6. To move rapidly (between).
7. (informal, intransitive) To be refused by a bank because it is drawn on insufficient funds.
8. (informal, transitive) To fail to cover (have sufficient funds for) (a cheque/check drawn on one's account).
9. (intransitive, slang) To leave.
10. (US, dated, slang, transitive) To eject violently, as from a room; to discharge unceremoniously, as from employment.
11. (intransitive, slang, sometimes) To have sexual intercourse.
12. (transitive) To attack unexpectedly.
13. (transitive) To turn power to (a device) off and back on; to reset; to reboot.
14. (Internet, ergative) To return undelivered.
15. (intransitive) To land hard and lift off again due to excess momentum.
16. (intransitive) To land hard at unsurvivable velocity with fatal results.
17. (transitive) To mix (two or more tracks of a multi-track audio recording) and record the result onto a single track, in order to free up tracks for further material to be added.
18. To render two or more tracks to computer storage so that they can be played back and re-recorded with further material added.
19. (archaic, slang) To bully; to scold.
20. (archaic, slang) To boast; to bluster.
21. (archaic) To strike or thump, so as to make a sudden noise upon rebound; to knock loudly.
22. (slang) To race poorly after a successful race.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A change of direction of motion after hitting the ground or an obstacle.
2. (countable, uncountable) A movement up and then down (or vice versa), once or repeatedly.
3. (Internet, countable, uncountable) An email that returns to the sender because of a delivery failure.
4. (countable, uncountable) A hypothetical event where a collapsing system, such as a universe in the Big Bounce theory, reaches a point of extreme density and then rebounds back into an expanding phase, essentially reversing the contraction due to quantum mechanical effects.
5. (countable, slang, uncountable) The sack, dismissal.
6. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A bang, boom.
7. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A drink based on brandy.ᵂ
8. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A heavy, sudden, and often noisy, blow or thump.
9. (archaic, countable, uncountable) Bluster; brag; untruthful boasting; audacious exaggeration; an impudent lie; a bouncer.
10. (countable, uncountable) Scyliorhinus canicula, a European dogfish.
11. (uncountable) A genre of hip-hop music of New Orleans, characterized by often lewd call-and-response chants.
12. (slang, uncountable) Drugs.
13. (slang, uncountable) Swagger.
14. (slang, uncountable) A good beat in music.
15. (slang, uncountable) A talent for leaping.
16. (countable, informal, uncountable) An increase in popularity.
17. (countable, uncountable) An obstacle for a horse to jump over, consisting of two fences close together so that the horse cannot take a full stride between them, nor jump both at once.
18. (countable, slang, uncountable) The situation where a horse races poorly after a successful race.

Synonyms

rebound

spring

bound

leap

jump

hop

ricochet

recoil

skip

jounce

resile

reverberate

gambol

vibrate

vault

saltation

jitter

jolt

jerk

oscillate

pounce

bouncing

bob

frisk

deflect

flutter

dap

wobble

tremor

bounciness

take a hop

shake

🫨

cannon

rock

🪨

resiliency

roll

sway

prance

rattle

jig

bounce back

jarring

jar

🫙

bump

leaping

swing

hopping

dive

flop

knock down

Translations

rebondir

rebond

sauter

saltar

rebotar

rimbalzare

rebote

stuiteren

saut

sıçrama

bondir

saltar

abprallen

rimbalzo

hüpfen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/baʊns/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bunsen

Cognate with Low German: bunsen

Cognate with Dutch: bonzen

Cognate with English: bang

In summary

From Middle English bounsen, bunsen (“to beat, thump”), cognate with Scots bunce, bonce (“to bounce”). Of uncertain origin. Perhaps imitative, related to bump, or related to Middle English bonchen (“to pound, beat”) and Dutch bonken (“to bump”).
Compare Saterland Frisian bumzje (“to pound, bang, bounce”), West Frisian bûnzje (“to throb, bounce, pulsate”), Dutch bonzen (“to thump, knock, throb, bounce”), German Low German bunsen, bumsen (“to beat, bounce”), German bumsen (“to thud, bang, pound”).