Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. pound, lb(noun)

   16 ounces avoirdupois

   "he got a hernia when he tried to lift 100 pounds"

2. British pound, pound, British pound sterling, pound sterling, quid(noun)

   the basic unit of money in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; equal to 100 pence

3. pound(noun)

   a unit of apothecary weight equal to 12 ounces troy

4. Syrian pound, pound(noun)

   the basic unit of money in Syria; equal to 100 piasters

5. Sudanese pound, pound(noun)

   the basic unit of money in the Sudan; equal to 100 piasters

6. Lebanese pound, pound(noun)

   the basic unit of money in Lebanon; equal to 100 piasters

7. Irish pound, Irish punt, punt, pound(noun)

   formerly the basic unit of money in Ireland; equal to 100 pence

8. Egyptian pound, pound(noun)

   the basic unit of money in Egypt; equal to 100 piasters

9. Cypriot pound, pound(noun)

   the basic unit of money in Cyprus; equal to 100 cents

10. pound, lbf.(noun)

    a nontechnical unit of force equal to the mass of 1 pound with an acceleration of free fall equal to 32 feet/sec/sec

11. Pound, Ezra Pound, Ezra Loomis Pound(noun)

    United States writer who lived in Europe; strongly influenced the development of modern literature (1885-1972)

12. pound, pound sign(noun)

    a symbol for a unit of currency (especially for the pound sterling in Great Britain)

13. pound, dog pound(noun)

    a public enclosure for stray or unlicensed dogs

    "unlicensed dogs will be taken to the pound"

14. hammer, pound, hammering, pounding(verb)

    the act of pounding (delivering repeated heavy blows)

    "the sudden hammer of fists caught him off guard"; "the pounding of feet on the hallway"

15. thump, pound, poke(verb)

    hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument

    "the salesman pounded the door knocker"; "a bible-thumping Southern Baptist"

16. ram, ram down, pound(verb)

    strike or drive against with a heavy impact

    "ram the gate with a sledgehammer"; "pound on the door"

17. lumber, pound(verb)

    move heavily or clumsily

    "The heavy man lumbered across the room"

18. beat, pound, thump(verb)

    move rhythmically

    "Her heart was beating fast"

19. pound, pound off(verb)

    partition off into compartments

    "The locks pound the water of the canal"

20. pound, pound up(verb)

    shut up or confine in any enclosure or within any bounds or limits

    "The prisoners are safely pounded"

21. impound, pound(verb)

    place or shut up in a pound

    "pound the cows so they don't stray"

22. pound(verb)

    break down and crush by beating, as with a pestle

    "pound the roots with a heavy flat stone"

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pound(verb)

   to strike repeatedly with some heavy instrument; to beat

2. Pound(verb)

   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

3. Pound(verb)

   to strike heavy blows; to beat

4. Pound(verb)

   to make a jarring noise, as in running; as, the engine pounds

5. Pound(noun)

   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

6. Pound(noun)

   a level stretch in a canal between locks

7. Pound(noun)

   a kind of net, having a large inclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward

8. Pound(verb)

   to confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound

9. Pound

   of Pound

10. Pound(noun)

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

11. Pound(noun)

    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

Origin: [OE. pounen, AS. punian to bruise. Cf. Pun a play on words.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pound

   The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement. A number of different definitions have been used, the most common today being the international avoirdupois pound which is legally defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms. The unit is descended from the Roman libra; the name pound is a Germanic adaptation of the Latin phrase libra pondo, 'a pound by weight'. Usage of the unqualified term pound reflects the historical conflation of mass and weight. This accounts for the modern distinguishing terms pound-mass and pound-force.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Pound

   pownd, n. long the unit of weight in the western and central states of Europe, differing, however, in value in all of them—a weight of 16 oz. avoirdupois for general goods, the troy-pound of 12 oz. being for bullion (the troy lb. is defined as 5760 grains, of which the lb. avoirdupois contains 7000): the pound sterling, a money of account: a sovereign or 20s., also represented in Scotland by a note (the Pound Scots is 1⁄12th of the pound sterling, or 1s. 8d.—of its twenty shillings each is worth an English penny): (Spens.) a balance.—v.t. (slang) to wager a pound on.—ns. Pound′age, a charge or tax made on each pound; Pound′al, a name sometimes used for the absolute foot pound second unit of force, which will produce in one pound a velocity of one foot per second, after acting for one second; Pound′-cake, a sweet cake whose ingredients are measured by weight; Pound′er, he who has, or that which weighs, many pounds—used only after a number, as a 12-pounder.—adj. Pound′-fool′ish, neglecting the care of large sums in attending to little ones. [A.S. pund—L. pondo, by weight, pondus, a weight—pendĕre, to weigh.]

2. Pound

   pownd, v.t. to shut up or confine, as strayed animals.—n. an enclosure in which strayed animals are confined: a level part of a canal between two locks: a pound-net.—ns. Pound′age, a charge made for pounding stray cattle; Pound′-keep′er; Pound′-net, a kind of weir in fishing, forming a trap by an arrangement of nets (the wings, leader, and pocket, bowl, or pound). [A.S. pund, enclosure.]

3. Pound

   pownd, v.t. to beat into fine pieces: to bruise: to bray with a pestle.—v.i. to walk with heavy steps.—n. Pound′er. [M. E. pounen—A.S. punian, to beat; -d excrescent.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'pound' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3419

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'pound' in Written Corpus Frequency: #308

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'pound' in Nouns Frequency: #205

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of pound in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of pound in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of pound in a Sentence

1. Robert Burton:

   Penny wise, pound foolish.

2. Pivotal Research Wieser:

   (Google) is the 800-pound gorilla.

3. James A. Garfield:

   A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck.

4. Noah Amos:

   It feels like I'm carrying a 100 pound baby.

5. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.:

   A page of history is worth a pound of logic.

Images & Illustrations of pound

Popularity rank by frequency of use