buddy
noun
comrade or chum (often used as a term of address).
buddy
1 American
[buhd-ee]
/ ˈbʌd i /
verb (used without object)
-
buddies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
buddied,
past participle, past
-
buddying
present participle
verb phrase
-
buddy up to to become friendly with or curry the favor of.
He was buddying up to the political bosses.
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buddy up
-
to become friendly; be on friendly or intimate terms.
-
to work closely together.
to buddy up with a student from another high school.
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Buddy
2
American
[buhd-ee]
/ ˈbʌd i /
noun
buddy
British
/ ˈbʌdɪ /
noun
-
Also called (as a term of address): bud. an informal word for friend
-
a volunteer who visits and gives help and support to a person suffering from AIDS
-
a volunteer who gives help and support to a person who has become disabled but is returning to work
verb
Usage
What does buddy mean? Buddy is most commonly used as an informal word for a friend. Buddy is often used as a form of address (as in Hey, buddy, I haven’t seen you in a while!) or a term of endearment (an affectionate way of referring to someone). It is sometimes shortened to bud. Buddy is primarily used in the United States. Example: We don’t get together as much as we used to, but whenever I hang out with my buddies from college it’s still like old times.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
buddysimple
-
buddiessimple
-
have buddiedperfect
-
has buddiedperfect
-
am buddyingprogressive
-
are buddyingprogressive
-
is buddyingprogressive
-
have been buddyingperfect progressive
-
has been buddyingperfect progressive
Past
-
buddiedsimple
-
had buddiedperfect
-
was buddyingprogressive
-
were buddyingprogressive
-
had been buddyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of buddy
1840–50, perhaps reduced form of brother
Explanation
A buddy is a good friend. Your best buddy in elementary school may still be a good buddy when you graduate from high school. If you love to hang out with a certain friend, she's your buddy. You could also call her your pal or your chum. Sometimes when kids are new in school, a teacher will ask another student to be their buddy — to help them feel comfortable and welcome. The word first appeared in the mid-19th century in the US, either as slang for brother or from the British butty, or "companion."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The buddy comedy “Deadpool & Wolverine” had its claws into July after it earned $211 million domestically in its opening weekend in 2024.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
But he added there was an "endless" list of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe he would love to buddy up with next.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
“My buddy looks at me and I’m like, ‘Dude, the turnover in public schools is crazy,’” Puder said.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
As Mitch, Stanley’s poker buddy who is attracted to Blanche, Bille Bruley’s high tenor poignantly embodied a weak man trying to be strong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
When he's in the States, where he went to prep school and is now in college, he's one of us, our buddy.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Tencent said it’s making “substantial progress” toward being AI-empowered, through its Hy3 LLM, WorkBuddy AI office productivity service and Core Buddy AI coding tool.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
His parents didn’t agree, so he struggled with various cobbled-together instruments and learned songs by Buddy Holly and other rock pioneers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
To collaborate with them, especially Willie, because I produced a record on him with Buddy Cannon… If you’d told me, one day I’d be doing that?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Plus, long-haul flights are less affected by fuel shortages than short ones, says Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
Mrs. Clarke drove Raymie and Beverly and Buddy and Archie over the Florida-Georgia state line.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
“We hit it off, and we’ve been great buddies since,” Lombardi said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Chinese users of AI-powered companion bots have bid heart-rending farewells to their virtual buddies as national regulations took effect Wednesday aimed at curbing the risk of emotional dependency.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Bhatt shared how he overcame more than 70 “nos” to build Robinhood, balancing being a dad and an entrepreneur and the “friend-checks” he writes to buddies building startups.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
I guess being buddies at swanky Hamptons parties in the ’90s only goes so far.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
Some people in the room were wide-eyed and quiet, two of his buddies snickered along, but I tried to catch Gillian’s eye.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
While his daughter and her friend were “bopping away” to every song, Grant said, he buddied up with Swift’s boyfriend, NFL tight end Travis Kelce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
But after Eden’s death, Danielle finds out that her daughter had buddied up to some of the local high school students by throwing parties when her employers were away.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 15, 2023
A 12-year-old girl who has just recovered from leukaemia has been buddied with a West End star through Momentum Children's Charity.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2022
By then he had buddied up with Chilean Yonathan Jesús Fernández and Mexican Germán Madrozo, whose prospects were as farcically bad as his were.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 1, 2019
They buddied up at movies and concerts; shared books and records.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2016
That’s what makes the negotiations so comical, and Moore looks like a fool for buddying up to John Angelos.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 9, 2023
That could look like buddying up with people you already live with, or who you are already consciously choosing to socialize with.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2020
Now we have NK and China buddying up,especially at a crucial time following the trade issues.
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2018
On another wall: a picture of Dixie Fuller, former stage manager for the band Alabama, buddying up with ZZ Top.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 2017
Vonetta, who was buddying up to one of the three sisters, could get her own toast.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
