noun · verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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/ˈpʌm.ɪs/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
homophone: pomace
rhymes with -ʌmɪs
CMU ARPABET:P AH1 M AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock, formed during explosive volcanic eruptions when liquid lava is ejected into water or air as a froth containing masses of gas bubbles, which are frozen into the rock as the lava solidifies.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
verb
Meaning 2
To abrade or roughen with pumice.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a light glass formed on the surface of some lavas; used as an abrasive
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pumice stone
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rock, stone
4
verb
Meaning 4
rub with pumice, in order to clean or to smoothen
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: rub
History
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman and Old French pomis (“pumice stone”), from Latin pūmex (“pumice stone”). Doublet of pounce.
Across languages
Translations
88 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
shtuf
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Arabic:
خَفَاف
(ḵafāf)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Armenian:
պեմզա
(pemza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Azerbaijani:
pemza
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Basque:
pumita
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Belarusian:
пе́мза
(pjémza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Belarusian:
пэ́мза
(pémza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Bengali:
ঝামা পাথর
(jhama pathor)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Bulgarian:
пе́мза
(pémza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Burmese:
ကျောက်ပွ
(kyaukpwa.)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Catalan:
pumicita
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Chinese Mandarin:
浮石
(fúshí)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Chinese Mandarin:
浮岩
(fúyán)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Czech:
pemza
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Danish:
pimpsten
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Dutch:
puimsteen
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Esperanto:
pumiko
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Estonian:
pimss
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Finnish:
hohkakivi
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
French:
ponce
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
French:
pierre ponce
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Old French:
pomis
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Old French:
ponce
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Friulian:
pomighe
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Galician:
pedra pómez
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Georgian:
პემზა
(ṗemza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
German:
Bims
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Greek:
ελαφρόπετρα
(elafrópetra)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Ancient Greek:
κίσηρις
(kísēris)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Hebrew:
פּוּמִיס
(pumís)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Hindi:
झाँवाँ
(jhā̃vā̃)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Hungarian:
habkő
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Hungarian:
horzsakő
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Hungarian:
tajtékkő
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Icelandic:
vikur
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Ido:
pumiko
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Indonesian:
batu apung
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Irish:
slíogart
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Italian:
pomice
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Japanese:
軽石
(karuishi)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Kazakh:
пемза
(pemza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Khmer:
ពុយមីស
(puymiih)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Korean:
경석
(gyeongseok)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Central Kurdish:
بەردەپێ
(berdepê)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Kyrgyz:
пемза
(pemza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Latin:
pūmex
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Latvian:
pumeks
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Lithuanian:
pemza
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Macedonian:
пемза
(pemza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Malay:
pumis
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Māori:
pungapunga
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Māori:
tāhoata
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Norman:
pièrre dé ponce
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Norwegian Bokmål:
pimpstein
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Occitan:
pomce
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Iranian Persian:
سَنْگِ پا
(sang-e pâ)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Pohnpeian:
wahnpei
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Polish:
pumeks
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Portuguese:
pedra-pomes
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Portuguese:
púmice
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Romanian:
piatră ponce
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Russian:
пе́мза
(pémza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Kildin-Sami:
тыӈӈ
(tyŋŋ)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Northern Sami:
dikŋa
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Serbo-Croatian:
плову́ћац
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Serbo-Croatian:
plovúćac
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Sicilian:
petra pùmici
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Slovak:
pemza
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Slovene:
plovec
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Spanish:
pumita
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Spanish:
piedra pómez
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Spanish:
pómez
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Spanish:
jal
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Swedish:
pimpsten
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Tagalog:
batong-buga
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Tagalog:
buga
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Tajik:
пемза
(pemza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Tajik:
санги ҷилбур
(sang-i jilbur)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Thai:
หินภูเขาไฟ
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Thai:
หินพัมมิซ
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Turkish:
ponza
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Turkish:
ponza taşı
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Ukrainian:
пе́мза
(pémza)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Urdu:
جھان٘واں
(jhā̃vā̃)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Uzbek:
pemza
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Vietnamese:
đá bọt
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Welsh:
pwmis
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
Yiddish:
פּימס
(pims)
— a light, porous type of pyroclastic igneous rock
