keybounce

key·bounce
K5E1Y4B3O1U1N1C3E1
UK/ˈkiːbaʊns/

noun

Multiple recorded keystrokes from a single press of a key on a computer keyboard due to poor electrical contact.

Scrabble 20
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounkeybounce (uncountable)

alternative key bounce

  1. uncountablebusinessMultiple recorded keystrokes from a single press of a key on a computer keyboard due to poor electrical contact.

    Many of you have experienced what we call “Keybounce” — multiple letters from one keystroke.

    1978 November, Radio Shack Microcomputer Newsletter
    1 more example

    A typical inexpensive key will settle down within five milliseconds, so if the keyboard scanning software polls the key less often than this, the controller will effectively miss the keybounce.

    2004, Randall Hyde, Write Great Code Volume 1: Understanding the Machine, →ISBN, page 348

Origin

From key + bounce.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

keybounce. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keybounce

MLA

“keybounce.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keybounce. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “keybounce,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keybounce.

Source: keybounce on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.