# bounce

/ˈbaʊns/ (US) · /bˈaʊns/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/bounce
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to spring back

verb · CEFR A2

to hit a surface and move back in the opposite direction.

For teachers: to recoil or change direction after striking an obstacle or surface.

- The ball hit the wall and bounced right back into my hands.
- The tennis ball bounced unexpectedly high on the clay court, catching the seasoned professional off guard during the final set.

### 2. to move up and down

verb · CEFR A2

to move up and down quickly and repeatedly.

For teachers: to move with a series of vertical springs or leaps.

- The children were bouncing on the bed and laughing loudly.
- The small boat bounced rhythmically on the choppy waves as the storm began to move inland.

### 3. to share an idea

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to tell someone an idea to see what they think of it.

For teachers: to present an idea or concept to another person to elicit feedback or evaluate its viability.

- Can I bounce a few ideas off you for the new project?
- The creative director preferred to bounce preliminary concepts off the junior staff to gauge how a younger demographic might respond to the campaign.

Usage: Usually used with the preposition 'off'.

### 4. bank refusal

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

when a bank refuses to pay a check because there is not enough money in the account.

For teachers: to be returned by a financial institution due to insufficient funds; can be used transitively for the check or intransitively for the account holder.

- I forgot to transfer the money, so my rent check bounced.
- The supplier became irate when the second consecutive payment bounced, prompting them to suspend all future deliveries until the debt was settled in cash.

### 5. to leave

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang

to leave a place quickly or suddenly.

For teachers: to depart from a location, often abruptly or unceremoniously.

- This party is getting boring, let's bounce.
- After realizing the atmosphere at the club had turned hostile, the group decided it was time to bounce before any real trouble started.

### 6. to restart a device

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to turn a machine off and then immediately back on again.

For teachers: to power-cycle a device or service to clear errors or apply updates.

- The server is acting slow, so I am going to bounce it tonight.
- The system administrator decided to bounce the database service during the maintenance window to resolve the persistent memory leak.

### 7. to combine audio tracks

verb · CEFR C1 · Technical

to mix several music tracks into one single track.

For teachers: to render or export multiple audio tracks into a single file or track to conserve processing power or simplify the mix.

- Once you finish the vocals, bounce the track so I can listen to it.
- The engineer had to bounce the drum stems to a single stereo file because the project was exceeding the hardware's processing limits.

### 8. the act of rebounding

noun · CEFR B1

the act of hitting a surface and moving back.

For teachers: the physical instance or quality of rebounding from a surface.

- The ball has lost its bounce because it is too old.
- The pitch was criticized for its uneven bounce, which made it nearly impossible for the batsmen to predict the trajectory of the ball.

### 9. energy or style

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a feeling of energy, confidence, or a good rhythm in music.

For teachers: a quality of liveliness, resilience, or a specific rhythmic character in music.

- She walked with a happy bounce in her step.
- The new single has a great bounce that makes it perfect for the summer festival circuit.

## Examples

- The ball will bounce high on this hard floor.
- The children love to bounce on the trampoline in the backyard until they are completely exhausted.
- Light rays bounce off the reflective surface of the lake, creating a shimmering effect that makes it difficult for the photographer to capture the details of the shoreline.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.