pound 2. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

pound²

PRONUNCIATION:	pound
VERB:	Inflected forms: pound·ed, pound·ing, pounds
TRANSITIVE VERB:	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.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	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.
NOUN:	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.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English pounden, alteration of pounen, from Old English pnian.
OTHER FORMS:	pounder —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.