pouncing
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pounce 1
(pouns)intr.v. pounced, pounc·ing, pounc·es
1. To spring or swoop with intent to seize someone or something: a cat that pounced on a mouse; watched the falcon pounce on the baby rabbit.
2. To attack or criticize suddenly: troops that pounced on a convoy; a reporter who pounced on a politician's change of position.
3. To turn the attention to and try to take advantage of: pounce on an opportunity; pounced on his mistake.
n.
The act or an instance of pouncing.
[From Middle English, pointed tool, talon of a hawk, shortening of ponson, pointed tool, variant of punchon, pointed tool; see puncheon1.]
pounc′er n.
pounce 2
(pouns)n.
1. A fine powder formerly used to smooth and finish writing paper and soak up ink.
2. A fine powder, such as pulverized charcoal, dusted over a stencil to transfer a design to an underlying surface.
tr.v. pounced, pounc·ing, pounc·es
1. To sprinkle, smooth, or treat with pounce.
2. To transfer (a stenciled design) with pounce.
[French ponce, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *pōmex, *pōmic-, from Latin pūmex, pumice.]
pounc′er n.
pounce 3
(pouns)tr.v. pounced, pounc·ing, pounc·es
To ornament (metal, for example) by perforating from the back with a pointed implement.
[Middle English pouncen, probably from Old French poinssonner, from poinson, pointed tool; see puncheon1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.