TOP

Definition of pound verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

pound

verb
 
/paʊnd/
 
/paʊnd/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they pound
 
/paʊnd/
 
/paʊnd/
he / she / it pounds
 
/paʊndz/
 
/paʊndz/
past simple pounded
 
/ˈpaʊndɪd/
 
/ˈpaʊndɪd/
past participle pounded
 
/ˈpaʊndɪd/
 
/ˈpaʊndɪd/
-ing form pounding
 
/ˈpaʊndɪŋ/
 
/ˈpaʊndɪŋ/
Phrasal Verbs
jump to other results

    hit

  1. [intransitive, transitive] to hit something/somebody 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.
    Synonyms beatbeatbatter ▪ pound ▪ lash ▪ hammerThese words all mean to hit somebody/​something many times, especially hard.beat to hit somebody/​something a lot of 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 offences (= as a punishment).
    batter to hit somebody/​something hard a lot of times, especially in way that causes serious injury or damage:
    • He had been badly battered around the head and face.
    • Severe winds have been battering the coast.
    pound to hit somebody/​something hard a lot of times, especially in a way that makes a lot of noise:
    • Heavy rain pounded on the roof.
    lash to hit somebody/​something with a lot of force:
    • The rain lashed at the window.
    The subject of lash is often rain, wind, hail, sea or waves.    hammer to hit somebody/​something hard a lot of times, in a way that is noisy or violent:
    • He hammered the door with his fists.
     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. [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move with noisy steps
    • She pounded along the corridor after him.
    Extra Examples
    • A group of men on horseback came pounding across the field.
    • I could hear the sound of pounding footsteps.
    3.

    of heart/blood

  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. [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. [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. [intransitive] pound (out) to be played loudly
    • Rock music was pounding out from the jukebox.
    • She could hear music pounding away in the room below.
    7. Word Originverb Old English pūnian; related to Dutch puin, Low German pün ‘(building) rubbish’.
See pound in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: pound

Nearby words

hat-trick
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Sports
C2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day