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Definition of pound verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

     

    pound

     verb
    verb
    NAmE//paʊnd//
     
    Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they pound
     
     he / she / it pounds
     
     past simple pounded
     
     -ing form pounding
     
     
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    hit
  1. 1[intransitive, transitive] to hit something or someone hard many times, especially in a way that makes a lot of noise synonym hammer pound at/against/on something Heavy rain pounded on the roof. All she could hear was the sound of waves pounding against the cliffs. Someone was pounding at the door. pound away (at/against/on something) The factory's machinery pounded away day and night. pound somebody/something (with something) She pounded him with her fists. Thesaurusbeat
    • batter
    • pound
    • lash
    • hammer
    These words all mean to hit someone or something many times, especially hard.
    • beat to hit someone or something many times, especially very hard:Someone was beating at the door. A young man was found beaten to death last night. At that time, children were often beaten for quite minor offenses (= as a punishment).
    • batter to hit someone or something hard many times, especially in a way that causes serious damage:He was badly battered about the head and face. Severe winds are battering the coast.
    • pound to hit someone or something hard many times, especially in a way that makes a lot of noise:Heavy rain pounded on the roof. She pounded on the table with her fist.
    • lash to hit someone or something with great force:The rain lashed at the window. The subject of lash is often rain, wind, hail, sea, or waves.
    • hammer to hit someone or something hard many times, in a way that is noisy or violent:He hammered at the lock, but it would not open. (figurative)She hammered him with difficult questions.
    pound or hammer?
    • There is not much difference in meaning between these two, but to pound is sometimes a steadier action. To hammer can be more violent and it is often used figuratively.
    Patterns
    • to beat/batter/pound/lash/hammer somebody/something with something
    • to beat/batter/pound/lash/hammer against something
    • to beat/batter/pound/hammer on something
    • to beat/batter/hammer something down
    • the rain/wind/sea beats/batters/pounds/lashes (at) something
    2. walk noisily
  2. 2[intransitive] + adv./prep. to move with noisy steps She pounded down the corridor after him.
    3. of heart/blood
  3. 3[intransitive] to beat quickly and loudly Her heart was pounding with excitement. The blood was pounding (= making a beating noise) in his ears. Her head began to pound. a pounding headache
    4. break into pieces
  4. 4[transitive] pound something (to/into something) to hit something many times in order to break it into smaller pieces The seeds were pounded to a fine powder.
    5. attack with bombs
  5. 5[transitive] pound something to attack an area with a large number of bombs over a period of time The area is still being pounded by rebel guns.
    6. of music
  6. 6[intransitive] pound (out) to be played loudly Rock music was pounding out from the jukebox.
    7. Idioms
    pound the pavement/streets
     
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    to spend a lot of time going from place to place looking for something, especially a job With the country’s jobless rate increasing, the number of people pounding the pavement had become a growing worry.     Phrasal Verbspound out
See pound in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
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