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ounce

1 American  
[ouns] / aʊns /

noun

  1. a unit of weight equal to 437.5 grains or 1/16 pound (28.35 grams) avoirdupois.

  2. a unit of 480 grains, 1/12 pound (31.1 grams) troy or apothecaries' weight.

  3. a fluid ounce.

  4. a small quantity or portion.

ounce 2 American  
[ouns] / aʊns /

noun

  1. snow leopard.

ounce 1 British  
/ aʊns /

noun

  1.  oz.  a unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound (avoirdupois); 1 ounce is equal to 437.5 grains or 28.349 grams

  2. a unit of weight equal to one twelfth of a Troy or Apothecaries' pound; 1 ounce is equal to 480 grains or 31.103 grams

  3. short for fluid ounce

  4. a small portion or amount

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ounce 2 British  
/ aʊns /

noun

  1. another name for snow leopard

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
ounce Scientific  
/ ouns /

  1. A unit of weight in the US Customary System equal to 1/16 of a pound or 437.5 grains (28.35 grams).

  2. See Table at measurement

  3. See fluid ounce

ounce Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing ounce

    • more bang for the buck (bounce for the ounce)

Etymology

Origin of ounce1

1350–1400; Middle English unce < Middle French < Latin uncia twelfth part, inch, ounce, derivative of unus one

Origin of ounce2

1300–50; Middle English unce lynx < Anglo-French; Old French once, variant of lonce (erroneously taken as l'once the ounce) < Vulgar Latin *luncea, derivative of Latin lync- (stem of lynx ) lynx

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The gains didn’t match what was witnessed in gold, however, which has now gained 15.5% in February and is trading at $5,176 an ounce, nearly double where it closed in February 2025.

From Barron's

Futures in New York were flat at $5,193.60 a troy ounce.

From The Wall Street Journal

With gold now more than $5,100 an ounce, Canadian gold miners could appreciate significantly.

From Barron's

The firm says it sees a path for gold to hit the $6,000 a troy ounce mark within the next 12 months.

From The Wall Street Journal

—Gold prices slipped in early trading but remain above $5,100 a troy ounce as investors look ahead to U.S.-Iran talks later on Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.