English Dictionary

Definition of “pound”

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1pound1 (paʊndPronunciation for pound1) 

Definitions

verb

  1.  when intr, often foll by on or at to strike heavily and often
  2. (tr) to beat to a pulp; pulverize
  3. (tr) to instil by constant drilling  ⇒ to pound Latin into him 
  4. (tr)  foll by out to produce, as by typing heavily
  5. to walk (the pavement, street, etc) repeatedly  ⇒ he pounded the pavement looking for a job 
  6. (intr) to throb heavily

noun

  1. a heavy blow; thump
  2. the act of pounding

Alternative Forms

ˈpounder noun

Word Origin

Old English pūnian;  related to Dutch puin rubble

2pound2 (paʊndPronunciation for pound2) 

Definitions

noun

  1. an enclosure, esp one maintained by a public authority, for keeping officially removed vehicles or distrained goods or animals, esp stray dogs
  2. a place where people are confined
    1. a trap for animals
    2. a trap or keepnet for fish See pound net

verb

  1. (tr) to confine in or as if in a pound; impound, imprison, or restrain

Word Origin

C14: from Late Old English pund-  as in pundfealdpinfold

3pound3 (paʊndPronunciation for pound3) 

Definitions

noun

  1. an avoirdupois unit of weight that is divided into 16 ounces and is equal to 0.453 592 kilograms lb
  2. a troy unit of weight divided into 12 ounces equal to 0.373 242 kilograms lb trlb t
  3. an apothecaries' unit of weight, used in the US, that is divided into 5760 grains and is equal to one pound troy
  4. (not in technical usage) a unit of force equal to the mass of 1 pound avoirdupois where the acceleration of free fall is 32.174 feet per second per second lbf
    1. the standard monetary unit of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, and various UK overseas territories, divided into 100 pence Official name pound sterling
    2. ((as modifier)  ⇒ a pound coin 
  6. the standard monetary unit of the following countries
    1. Cyprus: divided into 100 cents
    2. Egypt: divided into 100 piastres
    3. Lebanon: divided into 100 piastres
    4. South Sudan: divided into 100 piastres
    5. Syria: divided into 100 piastres
  7. another name for lira (sense 2)
  8. pound Scotsa former Scottish monetary unit originally worth an English pound but later declining in value to 1 shilling 8 pence
  9. puntthe former standard monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland, divided into 100 pence; replaced by the euro in 2002
  10. a former monetary unit of the Sudan replaced by the dinar in 1992

Word Origin

Old English pund,  from Latin pondō  pound; related to German Pfund  pound, Latin pondus weight

Pound (paʊndPronunciation for Pound) 

Definitions

noun

  1. Ezra (Loomis). 1885–1972, US poet, translator, and critic, living in Europe. Indicted for treason by the US government (1945) for pro-Fascist broadcasts during World War II, he was committed to a mental hospital until 1958. He was a founder of imagism and championed the early work of such writers as T. S. Eliot, Joyce, and Hemingway. His life work, the (). 1885–1972, US poet, translator, and critic, living in Europe. Indicted for treason by the US government (1945) for pro-Fascist broadcasts during World War II, he was committed to a mental hospital until 1958. He was a founder of imagism and championed the early work of such writers as T. S. Eliot, Joyce, and Hemingway. His life work, the Cantos (1925–70), is an unfinished sequence of poems, which incorporates mythological and historical materials in several languages as well as political, economic, and autobiographical elements

Translations

  • British English: pound Pronunciation for pound The pound is the unit of money which is used in Britain. It is represented by the symbol £. Some other countries, for example, Egypt, also have a unit of money called a pound.My mum and dad gave me five pounds.paʊnd NOUN My mum and dad gave me five pounds.
  • Spanish: libra Pronunciation for libra nf
  • French: livre Pronunciation for livre nf
  • German: Pfund Pronunciation for Pfund nnt
  • Chinese: 磅Pronunciation for 磅 n
  • Arabic: جِنِيهPronunciation for جِنِيه n
  • Portuguese: libraPronunciation for libra nf
  • Russian: фунтPronunciation for фунт nm
  • Croatian: funtaPronunciation for funta nf
  • Czech: libraPronunciation for libra nf
  • Danish: pundPronunciation for pund nnt
  • Dutch: pondPronunciation for pond nnt
  • Finnish: puntaPronunciation for punta n
  • Greek: λίραPronunciation for λίρα nf
  • Italian: libbraPronunciation for libbra nf
  • Japanese: ポンドPronunciation for ポンド n
  • Korean: 파운드Pronunciation for 파운드 n
  • Norwegian: pundPronunciation for pund nnt
  • Polish: funtPronunciation for funt nm
  • Brazilian Portuguese: libraPronunciation for libra nf
  • European Spanish: libra Pronunciation for libra nf
  • Swedish: pundPronunciation for pund nnt
  • Thai: เงินปอนด์Pronunciation for เงินปอนด์ n
  • Turkish: poundPronunciation for pound n
  • Vietnamese: đồng bảngPronunciation for đồng bảng n

Usage examples

  • The total was fifty million CFA short, a hundred thousand pound commission for Madame Severnou.
    Robert Wilson, INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS (2002)
  • Yet while the waters fill up, the number of waves that pound our shores stays the same.
    Country Life (2004)
  • The minimum price paid by Fairtrade per pound of green coffee is $1.26, compared to the global market rate of around $0.50.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • Clarke would be in the ludicrous position of leading an anti-euro army into battle under the banner of abolishing the pound.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • Then we'd go out partying: we'd be run here, run there, running up a three thousand pound bill.
    John Harris, THE LAST PARTY: Britpop, Blair and the demise of English rock (2003)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'P'

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