pound
pound — noun
1. the main currency unit in Britain and a small number of other countries; in the
the main currency unit in Britain and a small number of other countries; in the UK, one pound equals 100 pence.
The train from London cost forty pounds with a return ticket.
prices: [number] + pounds
Emma found a five-pound note in her winter coat pocket.
compound modifier: five-pound note
A cup of soup was only three pounds at the market.
The museum shop does not take cash over fifty pounds.
Tickets are ten pounds each if you book before Friday.
- ten pounds
- five-pound note
- cost thirty pounds
- pounds in cash
Grammar Patterns
[number] + pounds
a five-pound note
Usage Note
After numbers, the usual form is pounds, except with one: one pound, two pounds.
Common Mistakes
2. the value of British money when people compare it with foreign currencies.
the value of British money when people compare it with foreign currencies.
The pound rose against the dollar after the bank's announcement.
finance pattern: the pound + rose/fell against [currency]
News of the election pushed the pound down in early trading.
Travel companies lowered prices when the pound became stronger.
A weak pound makes imported cheese more expensive in Britain.
collocation: strong pound / weak pound
Investors watched the pound closely during the budget speech.
- the pound rose
- the pound fell
- strong pound
- weak pound
- against the dollar
- sterling
common in market reports and international finance
- British currency
broader descriptive phrase, less fixed than pound in exchange-rate news
Grammar Patterns
the pound + rose/fell
the pound + against [currency]
Usage Note
Usually written with the when talking about exchange rates: the pound rose, the pound fell.
Common Mistakes
3. a weight measure equal to 16 ounces, or about 0.45 kilogram.
a weight measure equal to 16 ounces, or about 0.45 kilogram.
The baby weighed seven pounds when she left the hospital.
pattern: weigh + [number] + pounds
Please buy two pounds of tomatoes for tonight's pasta sauce.
measure phrase: pounds of [food]
This package is just under fifty pounds, so lift carefully.
The cat gained a pound after staying with Uncle Ray.
Each dumbbell weighs ten pounds at the school gym.
- weigh ten pounds
- two pounds of apples
- gain a pound
- lose five pounds
- lb
written abbreviation used after numbers
- pound weight
explicit phrase used when you need to separate this sense from the money sense
Grammar Patterns
weigh + [number] + pounds
[number] + pounds of [food]
Usage Note
Often comes after numbers or after weigh when you state a person's or object's weight.
Common Mistakes
4. the written mark #, especially when giving phone or keyboard instructions.
the written mark #, especially when giving phone or keyboard instructions.
On this phone, the pound sign is below the number nine.
common phrase: pound sign
The voice menu asks for a pound after your booking code.
instruction pattern: press or enter pound
After the access code, press pound for the main menu.
Your password should end with a pound, not a star.
- pound sign
- pound key
- press pound
- enter pound
- hash
another common name for #, especially in computing
- number sign
more descriptive and slightly more formal
Grammar Patterns
pound sign
press pound
Usage Note
Common in phone-menu directions and older keypad instructions.
5. a place where lost animals or removed vehicles are kept until the owner claims t
a place where lost animals or removed vehicles are kept until the owner claims them or pays a fee.
After the storm, city workers took the loose dogs to the pound.
take [animal] to the pound
Nina paid a fee at the pound to get her car back.
get [vehicle] back from the pound
The brown puppy waited in the pound for two days.
Police sent the van to the pound after the illegal parking report.
Owners must bring ID when they collect animals from the pound.
- dog pound
- car pound
- take to the pound
- get back from the pound
- dog pound
specific to stray or lost dogs and other animals
- impound lot
mainly used for vehicles or seized property
Grammar Patterns
take [animal/vehicle] to the pound
get [vehicle/animal] back from the pound
Usage Note
Can refer to animals or impounded vehicles; nearby words usually show which kind is meant.
This means that once you start something, you should put in all the effort or money needed to finish it.
Maya decided to join the marathon and thought, in for a penny, in for a pound.
If you're already remodeling the kitchen, you might as well do the whole house—in for a penny, in for a pound.
This means it is better to stop a problem from happening than to fix it after it occurs.
Diego installed smoke detectors because an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Regular exercise is cheaper than hospital bills—an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
This means to demand the full amount owed to you, even if it causes hardship for the other person.
The landlord wanted his pound of flesh and refused to reduce the rent.
Even after the accident, the insurance company demanded its pound of flesh.
pound — verb
1. to strike something again and again with great force, or to make it flat, soft,
to strike something again and again with great force, or to make it flat, soft, or broken by doing this.
Leo pounded the door when nobody answered the bell.
pound + door/table/wall
The cook pounded the garlic into a rough paste.
pound + object + into [result]
Waves pounded the rocks through the long winter night.
Rita pounded the meat flat with a heavy wooden tool.
pound + object + flat
Fans pounded the table and shouted for one more song.
- pound the door
- pound the table
- pound meat flat
- pound garlic into paste
- waves pound the rocks
Grammar Patterns
pound + object
pound + object + flat/into [result]
Usage Note
The object is usually a surface or material receiving repeated hard blows, often followed by a result phrase such as flat or into powder.
Common Mistakes
2. to move or sound in a heavy repeated way, or to beat hard and regularly inside t
to move or sound in a heavy repeated way, or to beat hard and regularly inside the body.
Rain pounded against the roof all through the afternoon.
pound against/on [surface]
My heart pounded before I walked onto the dark stage.
[body part] + pounds
Boots pounded down the stairs after the fire alarm rang.
Dance music pounded from the club across the street.
The runners pounded along the beach before sunrise.
- heart pounds
- rain pounds on the roof
- music pounds from speakers
- pound down the stairs
- pound along the beach
Grammar Patterns
[heart/rain/music] + pounds
pound + against/on/down/along
Usage Note
Often used with against, on, down, or along for heavy sound or movement, and with heart for strong beating in the body.
Common Mistakes
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
For the everyday money unit, pound is the neutral standard word. Use it for prices, wages, and amounts: ten pounds, a pound coin. Quid is informal British speech; it sounds natural in conversation, but not in formal writing or exchange-rate news. Sterling is more formal and often appears in banking or international contexts when you need to make clear that you mean UK money, especially in contrast with other pounds. Pence is not a synonym for pound: it is the smaller unit, with 100 pence in one pound. So you say The ticket cost twenty pounds, but The pound rose against the dollar. In casual chat, A coffee costs three quid also sounds natural.
Etymology
Modern English pound brings together older ideas of weight, money, and striking. The noun for weight and currency comes from Old English pund, from Latin pondo, meaning 'by weight'. That link helps explain why the same word names both a weight unit and a money unit. The verb developed separately from an older Germanic verb meaning 'beat or crush', and later its spelling matched the noun.