difference of "bound" and "bounce"

Question

For the meaning of "jump" as a noun or a verb, how should I use "bound" and "bounce"?

(bound)
-(v) A deer bounded across the road.
-(n) With one bound the dog was over the fence.

(bounce)
-(v) The basketball bounced off the rim of the basket.
-(n) In tennis you must hit the ball before its second bounce.

As far as I checked example sentences in a dictionary, I am not very clear with the difference between them.

1, Can I use them interchangeably (always or sometimes)?
2, In what situation, should I use only one of them?

Thank you in advance.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

The four sentences you listed are correct. These two words are generally not interchangeable and are used differently, bounce primarily for ***** and other projectiles, and bound primarily for living creatures and automatons. Some further examples:

The bullets bounced off my flak vest. (Projectile motion. Bounded can't be substituted.)

The policeman bounced his nightstick off my head. (Projectile motion. Bounded can't be substituted.)

This robot can take a 10 foot fence in one bound. (Automaton motion. Bounce can't be substituted.)

The kangaroo got out of his cage and was over the fence in one bounce. (A kangaroo's motion is so bouncy that bounce is used for it rather than bound. Bound would not be used here.)

I got on the pogo stick and bounced across the road. (The motion of a pogo stick is so bouncy that bounce is used for it rather than bound. Bound would not be used here.)

He's our best rebounder. (Although this has to do with *****, the term rebound is used in basketball rather than rebounce.)

Kenkenken9876 · Answer

Thank you very much for your very helpful tips.

Kenkenken9876 · Answer

Thank you very much for your very instructive tips.

>bounce primarily for ***** and other projectiles

Let me ask further about the below sentences.

(a) The basketball bounced off the rim of the basket.
(b) The ball bounded against the wall.

These sentences are about a ball.
In Sentence (a) "bounced" is used, while in Sentence (B) "bounded".
In these examples, can I replace "bounced" with "bounded", "bounded" with "bounced", or does it make any difference if I replace them?

So far, in my understanding, "bounce" is usually used to describe a result of a physical phenomenon and "bound" is used to describe something more lively, as if "the ball bounds with its own will".
In some situations, only one of "bounce" or "bound" sounds natural but there are situations where either can be used, with a little difference of nuance or how the speaker evaluates the fact. Am I wrong?

Kenkenken9876 · Answer

I tried making my own examples:

(c) I bounded on the roof of a car parked under the balcony and landed on the grass.
(d) I bounced on the roof of a car parked under the balcony and fell onto the grass.

In Sentence (c), "I" jumped off the balcony on purpose and used the car roof for a shock absorber. I first jumped onto the car roof, and by kicking it by my feet, bounding on it, I successfully landed on the grass.

In Sentence (d), "I" accidentally fell from the balcony and fortunately my body bounced on the car roof from the back. Because I didn't directly fell onto the grass, I didn't get injured when I felt on the grass.

Is this a right way to distinguish the usage of "bound" and "bounce"?

Anonymous · Answer

"The basketball bounced off the rim of the basket." is correct. The word "bounded," from a purely technical-grammatical point of view, could be put into this sentence, however, from the point of view of everyday usage, this is not done. "Bounded" cannot be used in this sentence.

"The ball bounded against the wall." is technically correct from a purely theoretical-grammatical point of view. However, a sentence like this would not be used in (American) English. It would be said as: "The ball bounced against the wall."

Similarly, the sentence, "The ball bounds with its own will.", is technically correct, from a theoretical point of view, but this sentence would not be used in English. You might say this as: "The ball bounces as though it has a will of its own."

Dictionaries give bound and bounce as synonyms, but in everyday usage they can't be interchanged. They are used in different situations. This usage is determined by tradition which has evolved over hundreds of years. The various usage situations have to be learned by experience. But the general rule: "bounce" for ***** and other projectiles, and "bound" for living creatures and automatons, should serve for most situations.

Anonymous · Answer

The sentence, "I bounded on the roof of a car parked under the balcony and landed on the grass.", is almost right - just the preposition needs changing. This would be said as: "I bounded off the roof of a car parked under the balcony and landed on the grass."

The sentence, "I bounced on the roof of a car parked under the balcony and fell onto the grass.", is okay.

Kenkenken9876 · Answer

Thank you very much again.
I think I understand how the difference should be made in North American English.

I hope I can hear more opinions from people who speak different English, British and others.

Thank you very much.

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousThe four sentences you listed are correct.

The responses you give in the forum are generally correct and very helpful, Anon. Why don't you register so that members can identify you easily? It's useful to know that a response comes from a reliable member, and it's very difficult for learners to tell a reliable 'anonymous' from an unreliable one. Registration takes only a minute.

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