pound.
A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
Meaning & usage
A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
A unit of weight in various measurement systems. Ellipsis of pound weight.
A unit of weight in various measurement systems. Various non-English units of measure.
A unit of mass in various measurement systems. Ellipsis of pound mass.
A unit of mass in various measurement systems. Various non-English units of measure.
A unit of mass in various measurement systems. A unit of mass equal to 16 avoirdupois ounces (= 453.592 g). Today this value is the most common meaning of "pound" as a unit of weight.
A unit of mass in various measurement systems. A unit of mass equal to 12 troy ounces (≈ 373.242 g). Today, this is a common unit of mass when measuring precious metals, and is little used elsewhere.
A unit of force in various measurement systems Ellipsis of pound force.
A unit of force in various measurement systems Various non-English units of measure.
A unit of force in various measurement systems Ellipsis of pound-force.
A base unit of currency in various currency systems. The base unit of sterling, the currency used in the United Kingdom and some of its dependencies. It is divided into 100 pence.
A base unit of currency in various currency systems. Any of various units of currency used in Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria, and formerly in the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Nigeria, Israel, and South Africa.
A base unit of currency in various currency systems. Any of various units of currency formerly used in the United States.
the Rhode Island pound; the New Hampshire pound
A base unit of currency in various currency systems. Various non-English units of currency not officially called pounds.
The symbol #.
To be connected, press pound.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull, stretch”). Cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish pund. Doublet of funt, pfund, pood, and punt.
To wager a pound on.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull, stretch”). Cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish pund. Doublet of funt, pfund, pood, and punt.
A place for the detention of stray or wandering animals.
The people who work for the pound.
A place for the detention of automobiles that have been illegally parked, abandoned, etc.
A section of a canal between two adjacent locks.
A kind of fishing net, having a large enclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward.
A division inside a fishing stage where cod is cured in salt brine.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pounde, ponde, pund, from Old English *pund (“an enclosure”). Related to Old English pyndan (“to enclose, shut up, dam, impound”). Compare also Old English pynd (“a cistern, lake”).
To confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English pounde, ponde, pund, from Old English *pund (“an enclosure”). Related to Old English pyndan (“to enclose, shut up, dam, impound”). Compare also Old English pynd (“a cistern, lake”).
To strike hard, usually repeatedly.
To crush to pieces; to pulverize.
To eat or drink very quickly.
You really pounded that beer!
To pitch consistently to a certain location.
The pitcher has been pounding the outside corner all night.
To beat strongly or throb.
As I tiptoed past the sleeping dog, my heart was pounding but I remained silent.
My head was pounding.
To penetrate sexually, with vigour.
I was pounding her all night!
To advance heavily with measured steps.
To make a jarring noise, as when running.
The engine pounds.
Where this word comes from
From an alteration of earlier poun, pown, from Middle English pounen, from Old English pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūn- (“broken pieces, rubble”). Related to Saterland Frisian Pün (“debris, fragments”), West Frisian pún (“debris, rubble”), Dutch puin (“debris, fragments, rubbish”), Low German pun (“fragments”).
A hard blow.
Where this word comes from
From an alteration of earlier poun, pown, from Middle English pounen, from Old English pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush”), from Proto-West Germanic *pūn- (“broken pieces, rubble”). Related to Saterland Frisian Pün (“debris, fragments”), West Frisian pún (“debris, rubble”), Dutch puin (“debris, fragments, rubbish”), Low German pun (“fragments”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.