lb

Multiple Entries:
  lb    LB    pound  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
lb

▶abbreviation

• 1

  ■ pound(s) (in weight).

  ■ [from L. libra.]

• 2 Cricket leg bye(s).

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
LB

▶abbreviation Liberia (international vehicle registration).

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pound1

▶noun

• 1 (abbrev.: lb) a unit of weight equal to 16 oz avoirdupois (0.4536 kg), or 12 oz troy (0.3732 kg).

• 2 (also pound sterling) (pl. pounds sterling) the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence.

  ■ another term for punt4. ■the basic monetary unit of several Middle Eastern countries, equal to 100 piastres.

  ■ the basic monetary unit of Cyprus, equal to 100 cents.

  ■ a monetary unit of the Sudan, equal to one tenth of a dinar.

– phrases
one's pound of flesh something to which one is strictly entitled, but which it is ruthless or inhuman to demand. [with allusion to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.]

– origin OE pund, of Gmc origin, from L. (libra) pondo, denoting a Roman ‘pound weight’ of 12 ounces.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pound2

▶verb

• 1 strike or hit heavily and repeatedly.

  ■ beat or throb with a strong regular rhythm.

  ■ walk or run with heavy steps.

  ■ (pound something out) produce a document or piece of music with heavy strokes on a keyboard or instrument.

• 2 crush or grind into a powder or paste.

• 3 informal defeat resoundingly.

– derivatives
pounding noun.

– origin OE pūnian.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pound3

▶noun

• 1 a place where stray dogs may officially be taken and kept until claimed.

  ■ a place where illegally parked motor vehicles removed by the police are kept until the owner pays a fine.

• 2 archaic a trap or prison.

▶verb archaic shut in a pound.

– origin ME: of uncertain origin.