Jump To:

• bud
  bud

  noun
• Bud
  Bud

  noun

  a male given name.

bud

¹ American  

[buhd] / bʌd /

noun

1. Botany.

   1. a small axillary or terminal protuberance on a plant, containing rudimentary foliage leaf bud, the rudimentary inflorescence flower bud, or both mixed bud.

   2. an undeveloped or rudimentary stem or branch of a plant.

2. Zoology. (in certain animals of low organization) a prominence that develops into a new individual, sometimes permanently attached to the parent and sometimes becoming detached; gemmule.

3. Mycology. a small, rounded outgrowth produced from a fungus spore or cell by a process of asexual reproduction, eventually separating from the parent cell as a new individual: commonly produced by most yeast and a few other fungi.

4. Anatomy. any small rounded part.

5. an immature or undeveloped person or thing.

6. Slang. marijuana, especially potent marijuana from the buds, or flowering tops, of the hemp plant.

---

verb (used without object)

buds, present (3rd person singular) budded, past participle, past budding present participle

1. to put forth or produce buds.

2. to begin to develop.

3. to be in an early stage of development.

verb (used with object)

buds, present (3rd person singular) budded, past participle, past budding present participle

1. to cause to bud.

2. Horticulture. to graft by inserting a single bud into the stock.

idioms

1. in the bud, in an immature or undeveloped state: Also in bud.

   a Shakespeare in the bud.

2. nip in the bud, to stop (something) in the beginning of its development.

   The rebellion was nipped in the bud.

bud ² American  

[buhd] / bʌd /

noun

1. brother; buddy (used in informal address, as to one's brother or to a man or boy whose name is not known to the speaker).

---

Bud ³ American  

[buhd] / bʌd /

Or Budd

noun

1. a male given name.

---

bud ¹ British  

/ bʌd /

noun

1. a swelling on a plant stem consisting of overlapping immature leaves or petals

2. 1. a partially opened flower

   2. ( in combination )

      rosebud

3. any small budlike outgrowth

   taste buds

4. something small or immature

5. an asexually produced outgrowth in simple organisms, such as yeasts, and the hydra that develops into a new individual

6. a slang word for marijuana

7. at the stage of producing buds

8. to put an end to (an idea, movement, etc) in its initial stages

---

verb

1. (intr) (of plants and some animals) to produce buds

2. (intr) to begin to develop or grow

3. (tr) horticulture to graft (a bud) from one plant onto another, usually by insertion under the bark

bud ² British  

/ bʌd /

noun

1. informal short for buddy

---

bud Scientific  

/ bŭd /

1. A small swelling on a branch or stem, containing an undeveloped shoot, leaf, or flower. Some species have mixed buds containing two of these structures, or even all three.

2. ◆ Terminal buds occur at the end of a stem, twig, or branch.

3. ◆ Axillary buds, also known as lateral buds, occur in the axils of leaves (in the upper angle of where the leaf grows from the stem).

4. ◆ Accessory buds often occur clustered around terminal buds or above and on either side of axillary buds. Accessory buds are usually smaller than terminal and axillary buds.

5. A small rounded outgrowth on an asexually reproducing organism, such as a yeast or hydra, that is capable of developing into a new individual.

6. See more at budding

7. A tiny part or structure, such as a taste bud, that is shaped like a plant bud.

---

1. To form or produce a bud or buds.

bud More Idioms  

1. see nip in the bud.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• budder
  noun
• budless
  adjective
• budlike
  adjective
• nonbudding
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• budding
  present
• budded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bud
  simple
• buds
  simple
• have budded
  perfect
• has budded
  perfect
• am budding
  progressive
• are budding
  progressive
• is budding
  progressive
• have been budding
  perfect progressive
• has been budding
  perfect progressive

Past

• budded
  simple
• had budded
  perfect
• was budding
  progressive
• were budding
  progressive
• had been budding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bud
  simple
• will have budded
  perfect
• will be budding
  progressive
• will have been budding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bud¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English budde, bodde “bud, spray, pod”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Middle Dutch botte “bud,” or Old French bout “tip, end”

Origin of bud²

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; back formation from buddy

Explanation

The young part of a plant that's almost ready to flower or unfurl new leaves is called the bud. As a verb, bud also means to grow or develop. You will see the word bud most often in reference to plants, but it is also used metaphorically to refer to something that is still maturing: a "budding career," for instance, or a "budding romance." Scientists use bud to indicate a new formation of growth or something that splits apart to form a duplicate of itself, like a cell.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bud Bud buds budded budding

"It needs to be nipped in the bud because today's petty thief is tomorrow's bank robber," he says.

From BBC ● May 1, 2026

But as Te Haumihiata Mason, a translator working in Māori, points out to Mr. Hahn, in New Zealand few plants bud in May, so an inelastic approach here risks puzzling the audience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

With each instructive and poetic chapter, she shows us how time used to be measured by birdsong and flower bud, the color of twilight and the wide wheel of stars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

This is why a lot of Jews want to nip that rhetoric in the bud.

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2025

Clearly, the situation had to be nipped in the bud, for any change in the day’s schedule risked throwing off the careful precision of the plan Penelope and Simon had devised.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Advertisers included Bud Light, Polymarket, Crypto.com, and Dodge RAM trucks, each stamping its logo on the night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

He made his initial recordings in 1949 — first with singer Babs Gonzalez, then with pianist Bud Powell and trombonist Johnson.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

He went on to play with many leading jazz artists including Art Blakey, Bud Powell and Miles Davis.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

"We have an audience that grew up with the original "Air Bud" movie where there was no CGI," Vince said.

From Barron's ● May 10, 2026

He nearly drove me crazy till the day Bud Searcy and Lisbeth came, bringing the pup.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson

When they hatch, the leaves they depend on are still sealed inside buds, leaving them with nothing to eat.

From Science Daily ● May 5, 2026

Liv and Alina Valdez, dressed up as fan favourite buds Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson, and said they couldn't have been more pleased with how it all ended.

From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2026

While most plants only had one flower with many buds yet to open up, some were in full bloom with the sweet fragrant scent only the lily can provide.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2025

The buds also have a slightly different fit from AirPods past, with a smaller body and stiffer tips that Apple claims fit more ears.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025

He learned that a pigeon isn’t very fussy about what it eats, because its tongue has only thirty-seven taste buds.

From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli

“If your hemagglutinin is too sticky and your neuraminidase is too poor, you get stuck to the cell that you’ve just budded from,” Peacock says.

From Science Magazine ● Dec. 5, 2024

There are also “nine or so grafts and budded plants” Chris Trimmer who runs the site explains.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2024

This year, skip budded or blooming plants; give the gardener on your list a chubby bulb, and let them cultivate those impressive stalks crowned with showy trumpet blossoms.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 25, 2023

It had a Michigan secret receiver who budded to star.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 30, 2021

They were peach trees, budded most delicately pink, and willow trees thrusting forth tender green leaves.

From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck

Inside, we perfected our power snap—the subtle whipping motion at the end of the cast—with severed rod handles, looking more like budding wizards than fishermen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Hiring slowed sharply in June even as the unemployment rate fell, curbing some of the budding momentum in job growth this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

Qualcomm is still priced as a smartphone and wireless-technology company with budding aspirations in other segments.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026

“Teenagers get to test their budding independence,” she writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

She plays the trumpet with the skill of a budding Louis Armstrong and the swagger of Miles Davis.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold