pound
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /paʊnd/
rhymes: -aʊnd
Forms: form: pounds
form: pound
Etymology: From Middle English pound, from Old English pund (“a pound, weight”), from Proto-West Germanic *pund, from Proto-Germanic *pundą (“pound, weight”), an early borrowing from Latin pondō (“by weight”), ablative form of pondus (“weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to pull, stretch”).
Cognate with Dutch pond, German Pfund, Danish pund and Swedish pund. Doublet of funt, pfund, pood, and punt.
Senses: examples: text: B-2 bombers are the only plane capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts have highlighted as the only type of bomb potentially capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility. Each B-2 bomber is able to carry two of these “bunker buster” bombs, which weigh an impressive 30,000 pounds each.
ref: 2025 June 21, Thomas Bordeaux, Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen, “US moves B-2 bombers as Trump weighs Iran options”, in CNN:
glosses: A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
glosses: A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
Ellipsis of pound weight.
glosses: A unit of weight in various measurement systems.
Various non-English units of measure.
glosses: A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
Ellipsis of pound mass.
glosses: A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
Various non-English units of measure.
examples: text: Research shows that retaining even one or two pounds after giving birth can make problems more likely in a subsequent pregnancy, experts said, with women who have several children facing a "slippery slope" if they continue to gain weight each time.
ref: 2010 July 28, Rachel Williams, “Mothers who lose weight before further pregnancy ‘reduce risks’”, in The Guardian:
glosses: A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
A unit of mass equal to 16 avoirdupois ounces (= 453.592 g). Today this value is the most common meaning of "pound" as a unit of weight.
synonyms: lb
glosses: A unit of mass in various measurement systems.
A unit of mass equal to 12 troy ounces (≈ 373.242 g). Today, this is a common unit of mass when measuring precious metals, and is little used elsewhere.
synonyms: lb t
glosses: A unit of force in various measurement systems
Ellipsis of pound force.
glosses: A unit of force in various measurement systems
Various non-English units of measure.
glosses: A unit of force in various measurement systems
Ellipsis of pound-force.
examples: text: "Only a hundred and ninety-three pound," said Mr. Tulliver. "You've brought less o' late; but young fellows like to have their own way with their money. Though I didn't do as I liked before I was of age." He spoke with rather timid discontent.
ref: 1860, George Eliot, chapter 6, in The Mill on the Floss, book 5:
text: For students in developing countries who can't get it any other way, or for students in the first world, who can but may choose not to. Pay thousands of pounds a year for your education? Or get it free online?
ref: 2012 November 11, Carole Cadwalladr, “Do online courses spell the end for the traditional university?”, in The Observer:
glosses: A unit of currency in various currency systems.
The unit of currency used in the United Kingdom and its dependencies. It is divided into 100 pence. Symbol £.
synonyms: word: pound sterling
word: GBP
word: quid
word: nicker
examples: text: He glanced back through what he had read and, while feeling his water flow quietly, he envied kindly Mr Beaufoy who had written it and received payment of three pounds, thirteen and six.
ref: 1922 February, James Joyce, “[[Episode 4]]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
glosses: A unit of currency in various currency systems.
Any of various units of currency used in Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, and Syria, and formerly in the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Nigeria, Israel, and South Africa.
synonyms: punt
examples: text: the Rhode Island pound; the New Hampshire pound
text: He knocked out cans of warm cola at two pound fifty a time.
ref: 2010, Steven Field, Dusty's Fort, →ISBN, page 33:
glosses: A unit of currency in various currency systems.
Any of various units of currency formerly used in the United States.
examples: text: In the report of the Special Budget Commission certifying the estimates for 1874-75, it was announced on authority that the total amount of this debt did not exceed 14,725,000 Turkish pounds(liras), or £13,000,000, while the Special Commission for the verification of the budget for 1875-76 returned the total amount at 10,309,521 Turkish pounds(liras), or £8,935,000.
ref: 1878, w:Henry Hozier, The Russo-Turkish War: Including an Account of the Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Power and the History of the Eastern Question, page 61:
glosses: A unit of currency in various currency systems.
Various non-English units of currency not officially called pounds.
examples: text: Holonym: hashtag
text: To be connected, press pound.
synonyms: octothorpe
pound sign
;
hash
hash sign
hashtag
;
number sign
;
sharp
glosses: The symbol #.
Derived terms: 800-pound gorilla
800-pound gorilla in the room
Amsterdam pound
an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
a pound to a penny
assay pound
avoirdupois pound
Bristol pound
brown pound
foot-pound
foot-pound-second
geepound
green pound
grey pound
in for a penny, in for a pound
kilopound
metric pound
multipound
pack on the pounds
penny wise and pound foolish
penny-wise and pound-foolish
petropound
pile on the pounds
pinfold
pink pound
poundable
poundage
poundal
pound cake
poundcake
pound coin
pounder
pound-foolish
pound-force
pound for pound
pound-for-pound
poundkeeper
poundless
poundmaker
poundman
poundmaster
pound of flesh
pound party
pound Scots
pound shop
pound sign
Poundstone
poundworth
ship-pound
shorepound
sound as a pound
take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves
tenpounder
ten pound pom
ten pound Pom
ten-pound tourist
ten pound tourist
troy pound