bounce

/baʊns/

/baʊns/

Other forms: bounced; bouncing; bounces

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."

Definitions of bounce

1. verb

   spring back; spring away from an impact
   “The rubber ball bounced”

   synonyms: bound, rebound, recoil, resile, reverberate, ricochet, spring, take a hop

   types:

   kick, kick back, recoil

   spring back, as from a forceful thrust

   bound off, skip

   bound off one point after another

   carom

   rebound after hitting

   type of:

   bound, jump, leap, spring

   move forward by leaps and bounds
2. verb

   hit something so that it bounces
   “bounce a ball”

   types:

   bounce out

   bounce a ball so that it becomes an out

   type of:

   hit

   cause to move by striking
3. verb

   move up and down repeatedly
   synonyms: jounce

   type of:

   go, locomote, move, travel

   change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
4. verb

   leap suddenly
   “He bounced to his feet”

   type of:

   bound, jump, leap, spring

   move forward by leaps and bounds
5. noun

   rebounding from an impact (or series of impacts)
   synonyms: bouncing

   type of:

   backlash, rebound, recoil, repercussion

   a movement back from an impact
6. noun

   the quality of a substance that is able to rebound
   synonyms: bounciness

   type of:

   elasticity, snap

   the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed
7. noun

   a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
   synonyms: bound, leap, leaping, saltation, spring

   types:

   caper, capriole

   a playful leap or hop

   pounce

   the act of pouncing

   type of:

   jump, jumping

   the act of jumping; propelling yourself off the ground
8. verb

   refuse to accept and send back
   “bounce a check”

   type of:

   decline, pass up, refuse, reject, turn down

   refuse to accept
9. verb

   come back after being refused
   “the check bounced”

   antonyms:

   clear

   be debited and credited to the proper bank accounts

   type of:

   return

   go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before
10. verb

    eject from the premises
    “The ex-boxer's job is to bounce people who want to enter this private club”

    type of:

    boot out, chuck out, eject, exclude, turf out, turn out

    put out or expel from a place