- Home
- Idioms
- rebound
rebound
rebound relationship
A romantic relationship that one begins, often as a means of distraction, while still recovering from the end of a different relationship. Oh, Peggy doesn't really love that guy—she's just in a rebound relationship so that she doesn't feel so heartbroken about Pat leaving her.
rebound from something
1. Lit. to bounce back from something. The ball rebounded from the wall and hit Randy hard on the elbow. When the ball rebounded from the backboard, it bounced onto the court and Tom tripped on it.
2. Fig. to recover quickly from something. Barbara rebounded from her illness in less than a week. I hope I can rebound from this cold quickly.
on the rebound
1. becoming stronger or better again Wall Street is on the rebound a day after stock prices plunged to new lows. Improved housing and rising rents are both signs of a community on the rebound.
2. recovering from the recent end of a romantic relationship You're a great guy, but I'm still on the rebound and I'm just not ready to start seeing anyone.
on the rebound
unhappy and confused because a close, romantic relationship of yours has recently finished She was on the rebound when she met Jack. Six months after Julia left him, he married someone else on the rebound.
on the rebound
Reacting to or recovering from an unhappy experience, especially the end of a love affair. For example, A month after breaking up with Larry, Jane got engaged to Bob, a classic case of being on the rebound . This metaphoric term, alluding to the bouncing back of a ball, has been used in the present sense since the mid-1800s, although rebound alone had been used figuratively for much longer.