bush

1
[ boosh ]
See synonyms for bush on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a low plant with many branches that arise from or near the ground.

  2. a small cluster of shrubs appearing as a single plant.

  1. something resembling or suggesting this, as a thick, shaggy head of hair.

  2. Also called bush lot .Canadian. a small, wooded lot, especially a farm lot with trees left standing to provide firewood, fence posts, etc.

  3. the tail of a fox; brush.

  4. Geography. a stretch of uncultivated land covered with mixed plant growth, bushy vegetation, trees, etc.

  5. a large uncleared area thickly covered with mixed plant growth, trees, etc., as a jungle.

  6. a large, sparsely populated area most of which is uncleared, as areas of Australia and Alaska.

  7. a tree branch hung as a sign before a tavern or vintner's shop.

  8. any tavern sign.

  9. Slang: Vulgar. pubic hair.

  10. Archaic. a wineshop.

verb (used without object)
  1. to be or become bushy; branch or spread as or like a bush.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cover, protect, support, or mark with a bush or bushes.

adjective

Idioms about bush

  1. beat around / about the bush, to avoid coming to the point; delay in approaching a subject directly: Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want.

  2. beat the bushes, to scout or search for persons or things far and wide: I've been beating the bushes for a skilled, honest, inexpensive renovator.

  1. go bush, Australian.

    • to flee or escape into the bush.

    • Slang. to become wild.

Origin of bush

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English busshe, Old English busc (in placenames); cognate with Dutch bos “wood,” German Busch “bush,” Medieval Latin boscus “wood” (compare French bois, Italian bosco, Portuguese, Spanish bosque ), Old Norse buskr “bush”

Other words from bush

  • bush·less, adjective
  • bush·like, adjective

Words Nearby bush

Other definitions for bush (2 of 4)

bush2
[ boosh ]

noun
  1. a lining of metal or the like set into an orifice to guard against wearing by friction, erosion, etc.

verb (used with object)
  1. to furnish with a bush; line with metal.

Origin of bush

2
First recorded in 1560–70; from Middle Dutch bussche; see also box1

Other definitions for Bush (3 of 4)

Bush
[ boosh ]

noun
  1. Barbara Barbara Pierce, 1925–2018, U.S. First Lady 1989–93 (wife of George H. W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush).

  2. George (Herbert Walker), 1924–2018, U.S. politician: vice president 1981–89; 41st president of the United States 1989–93.

  1. George W(alker), born 1946, U.S. businessman and politician: governor of Texas 1994–2001; 43rd president of the United States 2001–09 (son of George H. W. Bush).

  2. Laura Laura Lane Welch, born 1946, U.S. First Lady 2001–09 (wife of George W. Bush).

  3. Van·ne·var [vuh-nee-vahr, -ver], /vəˈni vɑr, -vər/, 1890–1974, U.S. electrical engineer: education and research administrator.

Other definitions for bush. (4 of 4)

bush.

abbreviation
  1. bushel; bushels.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bush in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for bush (1 of 3)

bush1

/ (bʊʃ) /


noun
  1. a dense woody plant, smaller than a tree, with many branches arising from the lower part of the stem; shrub

  2. a dense cluster of such shrubs; thicket

  1. something resembling a bush, esp in density: a bush of hair

    • the bush an uncultivated or sparsely settled area, esp in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada: usually covered with trees or shrubs, varying from open shrubby country to dense rainforest

    • (as modifier): bush flies

  2. Canadian an area of land on a farm on which timber is grown and cut: Also called: bush lot, woodlot

  3. a forested area; woodland

  4. the bush informal the countryside, as opposed to the city: out in the bush

  5. a fox's tail; brush

  6. obsolete

    • a bunch of ivy hung as a vintner's sign in front of a tavern

    • any tavern sign

  7. beat about the bush to avoid the point at issue; prevaricate

adjective
  1. Australian and NZ informal rough-and-ready

  2. Western African informal ignorant or stupid, esp as considered typical of unwesternized rustic life

  1. US and Canadian informal unprofessional, unpolished, or second-rate

  2. go bush informal, Australian and NZ

    • to abandon city amenities and live rough

    • to run wild

verb
  1. (intr) to grow thick and bushy

  2. (tr) to cover, decorate, support, etc, with bushes

  1. bush it (tr) Australian to camp out in the bush

Origin of bush

1
C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse buski, Old High German busc, Middle Dutch bosch; related to Old French bosc wood, Italian bosco

British Dictionary definitions for bush (2 of 3)

bush2

/ (bʊʃ) /


noun
  1. Also called (esp US and Canadian): bushing a thin metal sleeve or tubular lining serving as a bearing or guide

verb
  1. to fit a bush to (a casing, bearing, etc)

Origin of bush

2
C15: from Middle Dutch busse box, bush; related to German Büchse tin, Swedish hjulbōssa wheel-box, Late Latin buxis box 1

British Dictionary definitions for Bush (3 of 3)

Bush

/ (bʊʃ) /


noun
  1. George . born 1924, US Republican politician; vice president of the US (1981–89): 41st president of the US (1989–93)

  2. his son, George W (alker). born 1946, US Republican politician; 43rd president of the US (2001–09)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with bush

bush

see beat around the bush; beat the bushes for; bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.