bounce
/baʊns/verb, noun
bounce is spelled B-O-U-N-C-E: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, bounce means “To change the direction of motion after hitting an obstacle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bounce?
| Letters | 6: B-O-U-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 10 times per million words; the 6,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bounce?
Bounce appears 10 times per million words in written English, the 6,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bounce?
- /baʊns/
- /buːns/
Bounce has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bounce.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bounce
- bounces present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- bouncing participle, present
- bounced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bounce mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To change the direction of motion after hitting an obstacle.
The tennis ball bounced off the wall before coming to rest in the ditch.
- 2
To move quickly up and then down (or vice versa), once or repeatedly.
He bounces nervously on his chair.
- 3
To cause to move quickly up and down, or back and forth, once or repeatedly.
He bounced the child on his knee.
- 4
colloquialTo suggest or introduce (an idea, etc.) to (off or by) someone, in order to gain feedback.
I'm meeting Bob later to bounce some ideas off him about the new product range.
- 5
To leap or spring suddenly or unceremoniously; to bound.
She bounced happily into the room.
- 6
To move rapidly (between).
- 7
informalTo be refused by a bank because it is drawn on insufficient funds.
We can’t accept further checks from you, as your last one bounced.
- 8
informalTo fail to cover (have sufficient funds for) (a cheque/check drawn on one's account).
He tends to bounce a check or two toward the end of each month, before his payday.
noun
- 1
A change of direction of motion after hitting the ground or an obstacle.
- 2
A movement up and then down (or vice versa), once or repeatedly.
- 3
An email that returns to the sender because of a delivery failure.
- 4
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
slangThe sack, dismissal.
- 6
archaicA bang, boom.
- 7
archaicA drink based on brandy, cherry bounce.
- 8
archaicA heavy, sudden, and often noisy, blow or thump.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bounce in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | abprallen , aufspringen, hüpfen, titschen , platzen , Bounce |
| Portuguese | rebater , quicar, pular , rebatida , quique |
| Spanish | rebotar, repercutir, botar, resurtir, recudir , rebote |
| French | rebondir , rebond |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bounce come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).