pounce

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“
He's just preparing to draw in another; to pounce -- don't you see him?

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Definitions (34)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (11)

  1. intransitive verb To spring or swoop with intent to seize someone or something: a cat that pounced on a mouse; watched the falcon pounce on the baby rabbit.
  2. intransitive verb To attack suddenly: irregular troops who pounced on the convoy at a narrow pass; a colleague who pounced on me because of a mistake in my report.
  3. intransitive verb To seize something swiftly and eagerly: pounce on an opportunity.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (16)

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Examples (50)

  • But before Intulo could pounce, the national ring, which hung from his neck, burst. —  FSF - April2006
  • As long as he didn't pounce, they could go around and around for hours Something changed in his face; he looked up and again caught her eye. —  Anthology - My Scandalous Bride
  • I lowered myself into a pouncing position and wiggled my butt, preparing for the pounce-and-leap, but as I sailed into the air toward the third step, my big old fluffy tail decided to play tease-and-tickle with a patch of spiny cockle-burs that were growing near the edge of the gazebo. —  Yasmine Galenorn - [Sisters of the Moon 1] - Witchling
  • If they're watching for us and ready to pounce, there just won't be anything we can do. —  AnalogSFF,March2006
  • It's a pretty tough image, and sexy too, with her big-cat crouch and her hair streaming back as if a pounce is just about to happen. —  The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed
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Etymologies (7)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. From Middle English, pointed tool, talon of a hawk, perhaps variant of ponson, pointed tool; see puncheon1.
  2. French ponce, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pōmex, *pōmic-, from Latin pūmex, pumice.
  3. Middle English pouncen, probably from Old French poinssonner, from poinson, pointed tool; see puncheon1.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English pounsen, a variant of punchen, punch, pierce (see punch); in part prob. an abbreviation of pounsonen, punch: see pounson, v.
  2. from pounce, v.; in part prob. an abbreviation of pounson: see pounson. Cf. punch, n.
  3. from French ponce = Spanish pómez = Portuguese pomes = Italian pomice, from Latin pumex (pumic-), pumice: see pumice.
  4. from pounce. n.
 

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/paʊns/
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