Pounding

How to spell pounding

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce pounding

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pounding mean?

1. verbStriking or beating heavily and repeatedly, or throbbing with a strong, rhythmic force.
2. nounA severe beating or heavy defeat inflicted on someone or something.

Pounding in a sentence

• verb

  The pounding rain on the roof kept her awake all night.

• noun

  The old fence took a real pounding during the winter storms.

• verb

  He woke with a pounding headache after the long flight.

• noun

  Their team suffered a humiliating pounding in the final.

Where does pounding come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the -ing form of the verb 'pound', which traces back to the Old English verb pūnian, meaning 'to beat, bruise, or crush in a mortar'. For centuries the word was spelled and pronounced without the final 'd'; the spelling 'poun' or 'pun' was common until an intrusive 'd' crept onto the end during the late Middle Ages, much as it did in 'sound' (from Old French 'son') and 'gown'. That extra 'd' is exactly the spelling quirk to watch, since the ear hears the same blunt sound either way. The sense broadened naturally from grinding grain to any heavy, repeated striking, and then figuratively to the throbbing 'pounding' of a heart or an aching head. The word should not be confused with the unrelated 'pound' meaning a unit of weight or money, which comes instead from the Latin pondo, 'by weight'.

How the word is built

• pound (to strike heavily, from Old English pūnian)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)