- bounce
- [[t]ba͟ʊns[/t]]
bounces, bouncing, bounced1) V-ERG When an object such as a ball bounces or when you bounce it, it moves upwards from a surface or away from it immediately after hitting it.
[V n prep] I bounced a ball against the house...
[V n] My father would burst into the kitchen bouncing a football.
[V prep/adv] ...a falling pebble, bouncing down the eroded cliff...
They watched the dodgem cars bang and bounce. [Also V n with adv]
Syn:N-COUNTBounce is also a noun.The wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball.
2) N-UNCOUNT: usu with supp The bounce of a sports field is the condition of it, which determines how high a ball will bounce on it.3) V-ERG If sound or light bounces or is bounced off a surface, it reaches the surface and is reflected back.[V off n] Your arms and legs need protection from light bouncing off glass...
[V n off n] They work by bouncing microwaves off solid objects.
4) V-ERG If something bounces or if something bounces it, it swings or moves up and down.Her long black hair bounced as she walked...
[V adv] Then I noticed the car was bouncing up and down as if someone were jumping on it...
[V n] The wind was bouncing the branches of the big oak trees.
Syn:5) VERB If you bounce on a soft surface, you jump up and down on it repeatedly.[V prep/adv] She lets us do anything, even bounce on our beds. [Also V]
6) VERB If you bounce a child on your knee, you lift him or her up and down quickly and repeatedly for fun.[V n prep/adv] Patsy had picked up the baby and was bouncing him on her knee.
7) VERB If someone bounces somewhere, they move there in an energetic way, because they are feeling happy.[V prep/adv] Moira bounced into the office.
Syn:8) VERB If you bounce your ideas off someone, you tell them to that person, in order to find out what they think about them.[V n off n] It was good to bounce ideas off another mind...
[V n around] Let's bounce a few ideas around.
9) VERB If someone bounces you into doing something you do not really want to do, they make you do it, usually by starting a process which cannot easily be stopped. [BRIT, JOURNALISM][V n into n/-ing] Attempts have been made to bounce member states into decisions with major financial implications.
10) V-ERG If a cheque bounces or if a bank bounces it, the bank refuses to accept it and pay out the money, because the person who wrote it does not have enough money in their account.Our only complaint would be if the cheque bounced...
[V n] His bank wrongly bounced cheques worth ₤75,000.
11) VERB: V If an e-mail or other electronic message bounces, it is returned to the person who sent it because the address was wrong or because of a problem with one of the computers involved in sending it. [COMPUTING]Phrasal Verbs:
English dictionary. 2008.
