Bouncy

How to spell bouncy

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce bouncy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bouncy mean?

1. adjectiveAble to spring back readily after being pressed or dropped; springy and resilient.
2. adjectiveFull of cheerful energy and enthusiasm.

Bouncy in a sentence

• The new mattress felt firm yet bouncy under his weight.

• The host kept the show moving with a bouncy sense of humour.

• Children love the bouncy surface of the trampoline.

• A bouncy tune played as the runners crossed the line.

Where does bouncy come from?

Language of origin: Other

This word is simply the verb and noun 'bounce' with the adjective ending '-y' attached, so it literally describes something full of bounce. The parent word 'bounce' first appears in Middle English around the 1200s, originally meaning 'to thump, hit, or strike' before settling into its modern sense of springing back after impact. Its exact source is uncertain, but most scholars treat it as an imitative or echoic word, coined to mimic the sudden thudding noise of something striking and rebounding, much like 'bump' and 'thump'. The '-y' suffix used to form 'bouncy' is the same native English ending found in 'sticky' and 'lumpy', meaning 'full of' or 'characterised by'. The springy, energetic adjective sense is comparatively recent, becoming common only in the nineteenth century. The spelling keeps the silent letters of 'bounce', and the trap is remembering that the final 'e' drops before '-y' is added, giving 'bouncy' rather than 'bouncey'.

How the word is built

• bounce (to spring back)
• -y (adjective suffix)