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bum
1[ buhm ]
noun
- a tramp, hobo, or derelict.
- Informal. an enthusiast of a specific sport or recreational activity, especially one who gives it priority over work, family life, etc.:
a ski bum; a tennis bum.
- Informal. an incompetent person.
- a drunken orgy; debauch.
verb (used with object)
- Informal. to borrow without expectation of returning; get for nothing; cadge:
He's always bumming cigarettes from me.
- Slang. to ruin or spoil:
The weather bummed our whole weekend.
verb (used without object)
- to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.
- to live as a hobo.
adjective
- Slang. of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; unsatisfactory:
I figured $300 was a bum deal for a minor repair, but I paid it anyway.
- Slang. fraudulent or fake:
He was accused of issuing a bum check for $2920.
- Slang. disappointing; unpleasant.
- Slang. erroneous or ill-advised; misleading:
I think the gauge is giving me a bum readout.
- Slang. physically disabled, impaired, or injured:
a bum leg.
verb phrase
- Informal. to travel, wander, or spend one's time aimlessly:
We bummed around for a couple of hours after work.
bum
2[ buhm ]
noun
- the buttocks; rump.
bum
1/ bʌm /
noun
- slang.the buttocks or anus
bum
2/ bʌm /
noun
- a disreputable loafer or idler
- a tramp; hobo
- an irresponsible, unpleasant, or mean person
- a person who spends a great deal of time on a specified sport
baseball bum
- on the bum
- living as a loafer or vagrant
- out of repair; broken
verb
- tr to get by begging; cadge
to bum a lift
- introften foll byaround to live by begging or as a vagrant or loafer
- intrusually foll byaround to spend time to no good purpose; loaf; idle
- bum someone off slang.to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
adjective
- prenominal of poor quality; useless
- wrong or inappropriate
a bum note
Word History and Origins
Origin of bum1
Origin of bum2
Word History and Origins
Origin of bum1
Origin of bum2
Idioms and Phrases
- bum (someone) out, Slang. to disappoint, upset, or annoy:
It really bummed me out that she could have helped and didn't.
- on the bum, Informal.
- living or traveling as or in a manner suggesting that of a hobo or tramp.
- in a state of disrepair or disorder:
The oven is on the bum again.
More idioms and phrases containing bum
- on the blink (bum)
Example Sentences
Rumours that Lego are producing a new clip-on Pippa Bum are unfounded.
Bum-boats selling goods before sunrising and after sunsetting are very hardly dealt with.
So Jack gave the cow to the man and took the Bum-clock himself, and started for home.
And when the man lifted the Bum-clock and put it in his pocket, everybody stopped jigging and dancing and everyone laughed loud.
An intelligent correspondent suggests that brandy would be about the thing, but that it should be labelled "Bay Bum."
They served us desserts made with Bum Berry goo As we danced to the tune of the didgeridoo.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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