What does jounce mean?
Jounce means to move with a sudden, abrupt, jerking motion, as an old cart might when passing over ruts or uneven ground; as a noun, a jounce is the jolt or sudden movement itself. The verb is usually intransitive, taking the moving thing as its subject, though it can also describe something that causes another thing to jolt. Its imagery is chiefly physical: a jounce combines abruptness, unevenness, and force. Although jounce appears in standard dictionaries, it has a literary or deliberately expressive quality and is less neutral than words such as move, jerk, or jolt. It can be especially effective when the source of the motion matters, such as a carriage on a rough road, an abrupt landing, or a heavy object shifting under its own weight. The word is most memorable in its oldest and most characteristic sense: movement that arrives suddenly enough to be felt.
To move with a sudden, jerking or jolting motion; to jolt or shake.
"The carriage jounced violently as it crossed the rocky track."
Most often intransitive and especially evocative of a vehicle moving over rough ground.
A sudden, sharp, jolting movement.
"The wagon gave a jounce when one wheel struck a stone."
Commonly used with “a” or “give”; plural forms are relatively uncommon.
The plural is grammatically standard but much less common than the singular.
"The cart suffered several sharp jounces on the stony road."
A jounce is the jolt itself; to jounce is the bump that makes the whole carriage shake.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of jounce
Jounce had entered English by the late sixteenth century, probably through the Middle French jouncer, meaning “to bump” or “jolt.” Its deeper origin is uncertain, so it cannot confidently be assigned to a separate Latin or Germanic root. The English noun and verb developed closely related meanings based on a sudden jolting movement.
Related word forms
How jounce is actually used
Jounce is fully standard but sounds literary, old-fashioned, or deliberately vivid rather than neutral. It is used especially for the jerky movement of a vehicle over rough ground and is most often intransitive.