pound definition | Dictionary.com

pound

1 [pound]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to strike repeatedly with great force, as with an instrument, the fist, heavy missiles, etc.

2.	to produce or effect by striking or thumping, or in a manner resembling this (often fol. by out): to pound out a tune on the piano.

3.	to force (a way) by battering; batter (often fol. by down): He pounded his way through the mob. He pounded the door down.

4.	to crush into a powder or paste by beating repeatedly.

–verb (used without object)

5.	to strike heavy blows repeatedly: to pound on a door.

6.	to beat or throb violently, as the heart.

7.	to give forth a thumping sound: The drums pounded loudly.

8.	to walk or go with heavy steps; move along with force or vigor.

–noun

9.	the act of pounding.

10.	a heavy or forcible blow.

11.

a thump.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME pounen, OE pūnian; akin to D puin rubbish

Related forms:

pounder, noun

Synonyms:
1. See beat.

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pound

2 [pound]

–noun, plural pounds, (collectively

) pound.

1.	a unit of weight and of mass, varying in different periods and countries.

a.	(in English-speaking countries) an avoirdupois unit of weight equal to 7000 grains, divided into 16 ounces (0.453 kg), used for ordinary commerce. Abbreviation: lb., lb. av.

b.	a troy unit of weight, in the U.S. and formerly in Britain, equal to 5760 grains, divided into 12 ounces (0.373 kg), used for gold, silver, and other precious metals. Abbreviation: lb. t.

c.	(in the U.S.) an apothecaries' unit of weight equal to 5760 grains, divided into 12 ounces (0.373 kg). Abbreviation: lb. ap.

3.	Also called pound sterling. a paper money, nickel-brass coin, and monetary unit of the United Kingdom formerly equal to 20 shillings or 240 pence: equal to 100 new pence after decimalization in Feb. 1971. Abbreviation: L; Symbol: £

4.	Also called pound Scots. a former Scottish money of account, originally equal to the pound sterling but equal to only a twelfth of the pound sterling at the union of the crowns of England and Scotland in 1603.

5.	any of the monetary units of various countries, as Cyprus, Egypt, Ireland, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria, and of certain Commonwealth of Nations countries.

6.	(formerly) the Turkish lira.

7.	a former monetary unit of Israel, Libya, and Nigeria.

8.	pounds, Citizens Band Radio Slang. a meter reading in units of five decibels: used as a measure of loudness for incoming signals.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE pund (c. D pond, G Pfund, Goth, ON pund) ≪ L pondō pound (indeclinable n.), orig. abl. of pondus weight (see ponder ) in the phrase libra pondō a pound by weight; see libra ¹

pound

3 [pound]

–noun

1.	an enclosure maintained by public authorities for confining stray or homeless animals.

2.	an enclosure for sheltering, keeping, confining, or trapping animals.

3.	an enclosure or trap for fish.

4.	a place of confinement or imprisonment.

5.	a place or area where cars or other vehicles are impounded, as those towed away for being illegally parked.

6.	reach (def. 26).

–verb (used with object)

7.	Archaic. to shut up in or as in a pound; impound; imprison.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME poond; cf. late OE pund- in pundfald pinfold; akin to pond

Pound

[pound]

–noun

1.	Ezra Loo⋅mis [loo-mis] Show IPA , 1885–1972, U.S. poet.

2.	Louise, 1872–1958, U.S. scholar and linguist.

3.	her brother, Roscoe, 1870–1964, U.S. legal scholar and writer.

reach

[reech]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to get to or get as far as in moving, going, traveling, etc.: The boat reached the shore.

2.	to come to or arrive at in some course of progress, action, etc.: Your letter never reached me.

3.	to succeed in touching or seizing with an outstretched hand, a pole, etc.: to reach a book on a high shelf.

4.	to stretch or hold out; extend: reaching out a hand in greeting.

5.	to stretch or extend so as to touch or meet: The bookcase reaches the ceiling.

6.	to establish communication with: I called but couldn't reach you.

7.	to amount to, as in the sum or total: The cost will reach millions.

8.	to penetrate to: distant stars the eye cannot reach.

9.	to succeed in striking or hitting, as with a weapon or missile: The artillery fire reached the shore.

10.	to succeed in making contact with, influencing, impressing, interesting, convincing, etc.: a program that reached a large teenage audience.

–verb (used without object)

11.	to make a stretch, as with the hand or arm.

12.	to become outstretched, as the hand or arm.

13.	to make a movement or effort as if to touch or seize something: to reach for a weapon.

14.	to extend in operation or effect: power that reaches throughout the land.

15.	to stretch in space; extend in direction, length, distance, etc.: a coat reaching to the knee; a tower reaching to the skies.

16.	to extend or continue in time.

17.	to get or come to a specified place, person, condition, etc. (often fol. by to).

18.	to amount (often fol. by to): sums reaching to a considerable total.

19.	to penetrate: Fields of flowers extended as far as the eye could reach.

20.	to assert or agree without certainty or sufficient evidence; infer hastily: I'd be reaching if I said I had the answer to your question.

21.

Nautical.

a.	to sail on a reach.

b.	to sail with the wind forward of the beam but so as not to require sailing close-hauled.

–noun

22.	an act or instance of reaching: to make a reach for a gun.

23.	the extent or distance of reaching: within reach of his voice.

24.	range of effective action, power, or capacity.

25.	a continuous stretch or extent of something: a reach of woodland.

26.	Also called pound. a level portion of a canal, between locks.

27.	Nautical. a point of sailing in which the wind is within a few points of the beam, either forward of the beam (close reach), directly abeam (beam reach), or abaft the beam (broad reach).

28.	the pole connecting the rear axle of a wagon to the transverse bar or bolster over the front axle supporting the wagon bed.

29.	a straight portion of a river between two bends.

Origin:
bef. 900; (v.) ME rechen, OE rǣcan (c. G reichen, D reiken); (n.) deriv. of the v.

Related forms:

reach⋅a⋅ble, adjective

reach⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

reacher, noun

Synonyms:
1. attain. 24. area, sphere, scope.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To pound

pound¹ (pound)

Abbr. lb.
1. A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (453.592 grams).
2. A unit of apothecary weight equal to 12 ounces (373.242 grams). See Table at measurement.
3. The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom, worth 20 shillings or 240 old pence before the decimalization of 1971. Also called pound sterling.
4. See Table at currency.
A unit of weight differing in various countries and times.
A British unit of force equal to the weight of a standard one-pound mass where the local acceleration of gravity is 9.817 meters (32.174 feet) per second per second.
1. The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom, worth 20 shillings or 240 old pence before the decimalization of 1971. Also called pound sterling.
2. See Table at currency.
The primary unit of currency in Ireland before the adoption of the euro.
A monetary unit of Scotland before the Act of Union (1707). Also called pound scots.
The pound key on a telephone.

[Middle English, from Old English pund, from West Germanic *punda-, from Latin (lībra) pondō, (a pound) by weight; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.]

pound² (pound)

v. pound·ed, pound·ing, pounds

v. tr.

To strike repeatedly and forcefully. See Synonyms at beat.
To beat to a powder or pulp; pulverize or crush.
To instill by persistent, emphatic repetition: pounded knowledge into the students' heads.
To assault with heavy gunfire.

v. intr.

To strike vigorous, repeated blows: He pounded on the table.
To move along heavily and noisily: The children pounded up the stairs.
To pulsate rapidly and heavily; throb: My heart pounded.
To move or work laboriously: a ship that pounded through heavy seas.

A heavy blow.
The sound of a heavy blow; a thump.
The act of pounding.

[Middle English pounden, alteration of pounen, from Old English pūnian.]
pound'er n.

pound³ (pound)

A public enclosure for the confinement of stray dogs or livestock.
A place in which impounded property is held until redeemed.
An enclosure in which animals or fish are trapped or kept.
A place of confinement for lawbreakers.

tr.v. pound·ed, pound·ing, pounds
To confine in or as if in a pound; impound.

[Middle English, from Old English pund-, enclosure (as in pundfall, pen).]

Pound (pound)

American writer who exerted great influence on the development of modern literature through his poetic works, such as the unfinished Cantos (1925-1960), his critical works, including ABC of Reading (1934), his voluminous contributions to literary magazines, and his tutelage of writers such as T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway.

Pound, Roscoe 1870-1964.
American jurist who was dean of Harvard Law School (1916-1936) and wrote several influential books, including The Spirit of the Common Law (1921).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pound

Pound\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Pounding.] [OE. pounen, AS. punian to bruise. Cf. Pun a play on words.]

1. To strike repeatedly with some heavy instrument; to beat.

With cruel blows she pounds her blubbered cheeks. --Dryden.

2. To comminute and pulverize by beating; to bruise or break into fine particles with a pestle or other heavy instrument; as, to pound spice or salt.

Pound

Pound\, v. i. 1. To strike heavy blows; to beat.

2. (Mach.) To make a jarring noise, as in running; as, the engine pounds.

Pound

Pound\, n. [AS. pund an inclosure: cf. forpyndan to turn away, or to repress, also Icel. pynda to extort, torment, Ir. pont, pond, pound. Cf. Pinder, Pinfold, Pin to inclose, Pond.]

1. An inclosure, maintained by public authority, in which cattle or other animals are confined when taken in trespassing, or when going at large in violation of law; a pinfold. --Shak.

2. A level stretch in a canal between locks.

3. (Fishing) A kind of net, having a large inclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward.

Pound covert, a pound that is close or covered over, as a shed.

Pound overt, a pound that is open overhead.

Pound

Pound\, v. t. To confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound. --Milton.

Pound

Pound\, n.; pl. Pounds, collectively Pound or Pounds. [AS. pund, fr. L. pondo, akin to pondus a weight, pendere to weigh. See Pendant.]

1. A certain specified weight; especially, a legal standard consisting of an established number of ounces.

Note: The pound in general use in the United States and in England is the pound avoirdupois, which is divided into sixteen ounces, and contains 7,000 grains. The pound troy is divided into twelve ounces, and contains 5,760 grains. 144 pounds avoirdupois are equal to 175 pounds troy weight. See Avoirdupois, and Troy.

2. A British denomination of money of account, equivalent to twenty shillings sterling, and equal in value to about $4.86. There is no coin known by this name, but the gold sovereign is of the same value.

Note: The pound sterling was in Saxon times, about a. d. 671, a pound troy of silver, and a shilling was its twentieth part; consequently the latter was three times as large as it is at present. --Peacham.

Language Translation for : pound

Spanish: libra esterlina,

German: das Pfund,

Japanese: ポンド通貨

More Translations »

pound (n.1)

"measure of weight," O.E. pund, from W.Gmc. stem *punda- "pound" as a measure of weight (cf. Goth. pund, O.H.G. pfunt, Ger. Pfund, M.Du. pont, O.Fris., O.N. pund), early borrowing from L. pondo "pound," originally in libra pondo "a pound by weight," from pondo (adv.) "by weight," ablative of *pondus "weight" (see span (v.)). Meaning "unit of money" was in O.E., originally "pound of silver." At first "12 ounces;" meaning "16 ounces" was established before 1377. Pound cake (1747) so called because it has a pound, more or less, of each ingredient. Pound of flesh is from "Merchant of Venice" IV.i. The abbreviations lb., £ are from libra, and reflect the medieval custom of keeping accounts in Latin.

pound (n.2)

"enclosed place for animals," late O.E. pundfald "penfold, pound," related to pyndan "to dam up, enclose (water)," and thus from the same root as pond. Ultimate origin unknown; no certain cognates beyond Eng.

pound (v.)

"pulverize," O.E. punian "crush," from W.Gmc. *puno-, stem of *punojanan (cf. Low Ger. pun, Du. puin "fragments"). With intrusive -d- from 16c.

Main Entry: pound
Pronunciation: 'paund
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural pounds also pound
: any of various units ofmass and weight: as a : a unit of troy weight equal to 12 troy ounces or 5760 grains or 0.3732417216 kilogram formerly used in weighing gold, silver, and a few other costly materialscalled also troy pound b : a unit of avoirdupois weight equal to 16 avoirdupois ounces or 7000 grains or 0.45359237 kilogram called also avoirdupois pound

pound (pound)
n.

A unit of weight that is the basis of the avoirdupois system, equal to 16 ounces or 453.592 grams.
A unit of apothecary weight equal to 12 ounces or 373.242 grams.

pound (pound) Pronunciation Key
A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 16 ounces (0.45 kilograms). See Table at measurement. See Note at weight.

pound
hash

Pound

(1.) A weight. Heb. maneh, equal to 100 shekels (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:71, 72). Gr. litra, equal to about 12 oz. avoirdupois (John 12:3; 19:39). (2.) A sum of money; the Gr. mna or mina (Luke 19:13, 16, 18, 20, 24, 25). It was equal to 100 drachmas, and was of the value of about $3, 6s. 8d. of our money. (See MONEY.)

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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pound

In addition to the idioms beginning with pound, also see in for a penny, in for a pound; penny wise, pound foolish.

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