pounced; pouncing
1
a
: to swoop upon and seize something with or as if with talons
b
: to seize upon and make capital of something (such as another's blunder or an opportunity)
2
: to make a sudden assault or approach
pounced; pouncing
: to dust, rub, finish, or stencil with pounce
1
: a fine powder formerly used to prevent ink from spreading
2
: a fine powder for making stenciled patterns
Examples of pounce in a Sentence
Verb (1)
the muggers pounced on the unsuspecting tourists as soon as they rounded the corner
Recent Examples on the Web
Phil Rogers, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
After Alexander Wennberg’s shot from the point went wide of the net, Thompson pounced on the loose puck and fired a shot from near the faceoff dot that got past Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz at the 2:23 mark of the third period.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
Hunter Ingram, Variety, 13 Dec. 2024
Over the course of the opera, as characters deliver their testimonies, the tensely tonal music behaves like a single mass that billows and drifts, ponders and pounces, but never falls silent.
—Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
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Verb
Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson pounced, giving up a fourth-round pick in 2026 while taking on the final season of Thuney’s contract.
—Phil Rogers, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
After Alexander Wennberg’s shot from the point went wide of the net, Thompson pounced on the loose puck and fired a shot from near the faceoff dot that got past Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz at the 2:23 mark of the third period.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025
Noun
This leads to the familiar scene of Mary coming home to her living room lined in plastic wrap, where a flailing Dexter pounces on her and eventually restrains her to his signature table.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 13 Dec. 2024
Over the course of the opera, as characters deliver their testimonies, the tensely tonal music behaves like a single mass that billows and drifts, ponders and pounces, but never falls silent.
—Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pounce
Cite this Entry
“Pounce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pounce. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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