Bouncing

How to spell bouncing

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce bouncing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bouncing mean?

1. verbSpringing or rebounding repeatedly off a surface.
2. adjectiveVigorous and full of healthy energy, especially of a baby.

Bouncing in a sentence

• verb

  The children kept bouncing the ball against the garage wall.

• adjective

  They sent a card congratulating the couple on their bouncing baby boy.

• verb

  She walked in bouncing with energy after the good news.

• adjective

  The puppy was a bouncing bundle of energy all afternoon.

Where does bouncing come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the verb 'bounce', which appears in Middle English as 'bounsen', meaning 'to beat, strike, or thump'. The origin is not fully settled, but it is widely judged to be imitative, an echo of the dull, sudden sound of something hitting a surface, and it may be related to the Low German 'bunsen' and the Dutch 'bons', both suggesting a thump or thud. Over time the harsh sense of striking softened into the idea of springing back after a blow, which is the modern meaning of rebounding off a surface. The present participle 'bouncing' then took on a second life as an adjective, especially in the phrase 'a bouncing baby', where it carries the sense of robust, lively health rather than literal rebounding. Because the spelling preserves the silent 'c' before the soft sound and adds the regular -ing, the trickiest part for writers is remembering that 'bounce' keeps its 'e' only until the suffix replaces it.

How the word is built

• bounce (to spring back, rebound)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)