pounce
verb /paʊns/
/paʊns/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they pounce | /paʊns/ /paʊns/ |
| he / she / it pounces | /ˈpaʊnsɪz/ /ˈpaʊnsɪz/ |
| past simple pounced | /paʊnst/ /paʊnst/ |
| past participle pounced | /paʊnst/ /paʊnst/ |
| -ing form pouncing | /ˈpaʊnsɪŋ/ /ˈpaʊnsɪŋ/ |
- to move suddenly forwards in order to attack or catch somebody/something
- The lion crouched ready to pounce.
- The cat crouched down as if about to pounce.
- pounce on/upon somebody/something The muggers pounced on her as she got out of the car.
- Hegerberg pounced on the loose ball and scored.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryPounce is used with these nouns as the subject:- cat
Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun denoting a tool for stamping or punching): origin obscure, perhaps from puncheon. The noun sense ‘a bird's claw’ arose in the late 15th cent. and gave rise to the verb (late 17th cent.).