OUNCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ounce mean? 

• OUNCE (noun)
  The noun OUNCE has 3 senses:

1. a unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound

2. a unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound or 16 drams or 28.349 grams

3. large feline of upland central Asia having long thick whitish fur

  Familiarity information: OUNCE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OUNCE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A unit of apothecary weight equal to 480 grains or one twelfth of a troy pound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

apothecaries' ounce; ounce; troy ounce

Hypernyms ("ounce" is a kind of...):

troy unit (any of the unit of the troy system of weights)

apothecaries' unit; apothecaries' weight (any weight unit used in pharmacy; an ounce is equal to 480 grains and a pound is equal to 12 ounces)

Meronyms (parts of "ounce"):

pennyweight (a unit of apothecary weight equal to 24 grains)

drachm; drachma; dram (a unit of apothecary weight equal to an eighth of an ounce or to 60 grains)

Holonyms ("ounce" is a part of...):

apothecaries' pound; troy pound (an apothecary weight equal to 12 ounces or 373.242 grams)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A unit of weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound or 16 drams or 28.349 grams

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

ounce; oz.

Hypernyms ("ounce" is a kind of...):

avoirdupois unit (any of the units of the avoirdupois system of weights)

Meronyms (parts of "ounce"):

dram (1/16 ounce or 1.771 grams)

Holonyms ("ounce" is a part of...):

lb; pound (16 ounces avoirdupois)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Large feline of upland central Asia having long thick whitish fur

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

ounce; Panthera uncia; snow leopard

Hypernyms ("ounce" is a kind of...):

big cat; cat (any of several large cats typically able to roar and living in the wild)

Holonyms ("ounce" is a member of...):

genus Panthera; Panthera (lions; leopards; snow leopards; jaguars; tigers; cheetahs; saber-toothed tigers)

 Context examples 

A milligram is approximately 450,000 times smaller than a pound and 28,000 times smaller than an ounce.

(Milligram, NCI Dictionary)

The traditional unit of mass derived from the weight of a grain and equal to one seven-thousandth of a pound, or 1/480 troy ounce, or 64.79891 milligrams.

(Grain, NCI Thesaurus)

The non-SI unit of mass equal to 24 grains, 1/20 Troy ounce or approximately 1.5552 gram.

(Pennyweight, NCI Thesaurus)

Moreover, each additional 12-ounce drink increased the risk even more.

(Sugary Fruit Juices May Increase Risk of Early Death, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The non-SI unit of mass equal to 1/16 Avoirdupois ounce or 1/256 Avoirdupois pound.

(Dram Mass Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

An ounce of pistachios has 161.9 calories, but only 153.8 calories are bioavailable.

(Going Nuts Over Calories, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

There was half an ounce of strong ship’s tobacco in it.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

One gram is equal to one thousandth of a kilogram and is approximately 30-times less than an ounce.

(Gram, NCI Dictionary)

It is equal to approximately 0.029 4935 ounce per square yard.

(Gram per Square Meter, NCI Thesaurus)

If the label says two teaspoons and you're using a dosing cup with ounces only, don't guess.

(Medicines and Children, Food and Drug Administration)