ounce
noun
Simple meaning
A unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ownsIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaʊns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A troy ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₂ of a troy pound, or 480 grains, or 31.1034768 grams.
A unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound
A US fluid ounce, with a volume of ¹⁄₁₆ of a US pint, 1.804688 cubic inches or 29.5735295625 millilitres.
figurative
Any small amount, a little bit.
Large feline of upland central Asia having long thick whitish fur
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A troy ounce, weighing ¹⁄₁₂ of a troy pound, or 480 grains, or 31.1034768 grams.
Used this way, ounce is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- troy ounce , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ounce
- “Can I get one ounce of cheese for my sandwich?”
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: troy ounce
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “ounce” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.