Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ponce

/pɒns/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.89 in modern English

Syllables
ponce
IPA
/pɒns/
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A man living off another's earnings, especially a woman's.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

noun

A man living off another's earnings, especially a woman's.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

noun

Synonym of poof: an effeminate gay man; any similarly effeminate man.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

verb

To act as a pimp.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

verb

To try to get rid of or sell something.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

verb

To borrow (something) from somebody without returning it.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

verb

To cadge.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

verb

To behave in a posh or effeminate manner.

British usage; Derogatory; Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

Uncertain, but probably an aphetic form of French alphonse (“kept man”), from the male given name Alphonse. Also sometimes connected to pounce or French pensionnaire (“pensioner, person living without working”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

ponces (plural) ponces (present, singular) poncing (participle, present) ponced (participle, past) ponced (past)

Derived Forms

poncy

Phrases

ponce wheel Ponce Inlet

Frequently Paired Words

Ponce Inlet

Synonyms

kept man pimp poof cicisbeo sugar baby fleshmonger hustler mack fairy nelly cockney girlyman

Rhymes With

once response provence nonce sconce bonce honi soit qui mal y pense ensconce

Questions

How do you pronounce ponce?
The recorded pronunciation is /pɒns/.
What does ponce mean?
A man living off another's earnings, especially a woman's.
Where does ponce come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce ponce

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ponce”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɒns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ponce”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “ponce” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.