Skip to main content
pound

pound

∞ 1.0
A unit of weight equal to 16 ounces, about half a kilogram
  • noun
  • /paʊnd/
: libra
  • The package weighs five pounds and will be shipped today.
  • weighs 200 pounds
  • 4.5 pounds
  • weight in pounds

Can you bring a pound of jello through TSA?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • You weigh three more pounds than your sisters.

  • And I didn't gain a single pound for three weeks.

  • It's more like I want to lose half a pound a week, for example.

  • That adds up in just ten days to a pound of body fat.

  • Her weight has gone up by a few pounds in the last 2 years.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Moving house also makes you put on an average of 11 pounds in weight.

    Academic text (2015)
  • I mean, what is this, 15 pounds?

  • There are more than five pounds of marrow in the human body.

  • Have you recently lost more than fourteen pounds in a 3-month period?

    Academic text (2011)
  • Listen, there's 50 pounds of shrimp in a cooler at the hotel.

Synonyms

lb
vspound
  • Specialized
84 1.0

A weight equal to 16 ounces, often called a pound and used in the US and UK

is the full term that also names a unit of force as well as weight
lbf
vspound
  • Specialized
1 9.2

A measure of force equal to the push of gravity on one pound

refers mainly to mass or weight rather than to force

Idioms

pound of flesh
  • Informal
13 9.9

A demand for unfair payment or punishment

to pound sand
  • Offensive
2 9.9

Tell someone to go away in a rude way

Careful with small amounts of money but wasteful with larger amounts

When you start something risky or difficult, you continue and do it fully

Careful about small costs but careless with larger ones

Very likely to happen

Stopping a problem early is better than fixing it later

Suffer a heavy cost to meet an unfair demand

Compounds

16 1.0

A weight equal to eight ounces

9 2.5

A place where lost or stray dogs are kept temporarily

9 1.2

A rich, heavy cake made with a lot of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour

A weight equal to one quarter of a pound or four ounces

5 8.1

A very powerful person or company that others cannot easily challenge

Money used in the United Kingdom worth 100 pence

3 3.4

The main money unit used in the United Kingdom equal to 100 pence

pound sign
  • Texting
2 2.7

A symbol # used to mark numbers or make tags on social media

Irish pound
  • Literature
1 6.4

Former money used in Ireland before the euro

foot-pound
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A unit of work equal to a one-pound force moving an object one foot

pound of cure
  • Informal
1 7.9

A large amount of work or money needed to fix a problem

pound town
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To have sex or party wildly

The basic unit of money used in Egypt, equal to 100 piasters

A unit of money used in Sudan equal to 100 piasters

1 2.8

A shop that sells many everyday items for one pound each

A unit of money used in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland equal to 100 pence

The unit of money used in Lebanon equal to one hundred piasters

pound net
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A large net that guides fish into an enclosed area where they cannot escape

1 3.7

The currency used in Syria, equal to 100 piasters

1 3.3

A symbol £ used to show British money on prices

troy pound
  • Archaic
1 9.4

A weight for measuring gold and silver equal to about 373 grams

Cypriot pound
  • Archaic
7.9

A unit of money that Cyprus used before 2008, worth 100 cents

9.9

An old unit of weight used for medicines equal to 12 ounces, about 373 grams

How Heavy

ton
  • Specialized
315 1.0
cwt
  • Specialized
9.9
pound
∞ 1.0
ounce
  • Archaic
4 4.1

Surface Forms

pound singular
pounds plural

Etymology

The word pound for the unit of weight comes from Latin pondus meaning 'weight', so a pound is just a way to measure how heavy something is.