Pound (pound), Ezra Loomis 1885-1972. American writer who exerted great influence on the development of modern literature through his poetic works, such as the unfinished Cantos (1925-1960), his critical works, including ABC of Reading (1934), his voluminous contributions to literary magazines, and his tutelage of writers such as T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway. |
pound 1 (pound)n.1. Abbr. lb.a. A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces (453.592 grams). b. A unit of apothecary weight equal to 12 ounces (373.242 grams). See Table at measurement. 2. A unit of weight differing in various countries and times. 3. A British unit of force equal to the weight of a standard one-pound mass where the local acceleration of gravity is 9.817 meters (32.174 feet) per second per second. 4. a. The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom, worth 20 shillings or 240 old pence before the decimalization of 1971. Also called pound sterling. 5. A monetary unit of Scotland before the Act of Union (1707). Also called pound scots. 6. The pound key on a telephone.
[Middle English, from Old English pund, from West Germanic *punda-, from Latin (l bra) pond , (a pound) by weight; see (s)pen- in Indo-European roots.] |
| pound 2 (pound) v. pound·ed, pound·ing, pounds v.tr.1. To strike repeatedly and forcefully. See Synonyms at beat. 2. To beat to a powder or pulp; pulverize or crush. 3. To instill by persistent, emphatic repetition: pounded knowledge into the students' heads. 4. To assault with heavy gunfire. v.intr.1. To strike vigorous, repeated blows: He pounded on the table. 2. To move along heavily and noisily: The children pounded up the stairs. 3. To pulsate rapidly and heavily; throb: My heart pounded. 4. To move or work laboriously: a ship that pounded through heavy seas. n.1. A heavy blow. 2. The sound of a heavy blow; a thump. 3. The act of pounding. Idiom: pound the pavement Slang To travel the streets on foot, especially in search of work.
[Middle English pounden, alteration of pounen, from Old English p nian.]
pound er n. |
pound 3 (pound)n.1. A public enclosure for the confinement of stray dogs or livestock. 2. A place in which impounded property is held until redeemed. 3. An enclosure in which animals or fish are trapped or kept. 4. A place of confinement for lawbreakers. tr.v. pound·ed, pound·ing, pounds To confine in or as if in a pound; impound.
[Middle English, from Old English pund-, enclosure (as in pundfall, pen).] |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | pounder - (used only in combination) something weighing a given number of pounds; "the fisherman caught a 10-pounder"; "their linemen are all 300-pounders"combining form - a bound form used only in compounds; "`hemato-' is a combining form in words like `hematology'" force unit - a unit of measurement of physical force | | 2. | pounder - a heavy tool of stone or iron (usually with a flat base and a handle) that is used to grind and mix material (as grain or drugs or pigments) against a slab of stonetool - an implement used in the practice of a vocation |
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