Rebound

How to spell rebound

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rebound

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rebound mean?

1. verbTo spring or bounce back after hitting something, or to recover after a setback.
2. nounAn act of bouncing back, or a recovery after a decline or disappointment.

Rebound in a sentence

• verb

  The ball will rebound off the wall and roll back toward you.

• noun

  The player grabbed the rebound and scored an easy basket.

• verb

  Share prices began to rebound once the report was released.

• noun

  Economists predicted a sharp rebound in consumer spending.

Where does rebound come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travelled into English from Old French, where the verb rebondir meant 'to spring back' or 'to leap back'. It was built from the prefix re-, meaning 'back' or 'again', joined to bondir, 'to leap or spring', which itself goes back to a Late Latin sense connected to resounding or echoing. English adopted it in the 1300s, first describing things that physically sprang back after striking a surface. From that literal bouncing came the figurative meanings we still use, such as a market that recovers or a person who recovers emotionally after a setback. The same bondir root sits behind the everyday word 'bound' meaning a leap, which is why the spelling keeps that familiar -bound ending and is rarely misspelled.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• bound (from Old French bondir: to leap, spring)