bounce house

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A large inflatable structure that children jump and play inside, often at parties or fairs.

   Grammar: Countable; plural is 'bounce houses'.

   Patterns

   • rent a bounce house
   • jump in a bounce house
   • set up a bounce house

   The kids spent hours jumping in the bounce house at the birthday party.

   We rented a bounce house for the school fair.

   The bounce house deflated slowly after the party ended.

2. 2nouncountablebusiness

   A business that provides inflatable play structures for events.

   Grammar: Countable; often used in the plural when referring to the business.

   Patterns

   • start a bounce house business
   • hire a bounce house company

   He started a bounce house business to earn extra money on weekends.

   The local bounce house company delivers and sets up the equipment.

Word forms

Common combinations

rent a bounce house

They decided to rent a bounce house for their son's birthday.

jump in a bounce house

The children love to jump in the bounce house.

bounce house party

She planned a bounce house party for the neighborhood kids.

inflatable bounce house

The inflatable bounce house took only ten minutes to set up.

Synonyms and how they differ

bouncy castle

The usual British term for the same thing; in the US, 'bounce house' is more common.

inflatable

A general word for any inflatable structure; 'bounce house' is more specific to the play structure for jumping.

Word family

bounce verb

To spring back after hitting a surface; the house is named for the bouncing children do inside.

Commonly confused: bounce house or bouncy house?

Practice

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