any of a wide variety of variously shaped bread rolls, usually leavened and slightly sweetened or plain, sometimes containing spices, dried currants, etc.
hair gathered into a round coil or knot at the nape of the neck or on top of the head in certain coiffures.
Slang. buns, the buttocks.
a small roll, similar to bread but usually containing sweetening, currants, spices, etc
any of various types of small round sweet cakes
a hairstyle in which long hair is gathered into a bun shape at the back of the head
slang to be pregnant
1325–75; Middle English bunne, possibly of Romance origin; see also buñuelo ( def. )
First recorded in 1900–05; of uncertain origin
First recorded in 1915–20
A bun is a small roll, usually made of wheat flour and baked in an oven. You might bake a batch of buns for a breakfast treat on Sunday mornings. Some people celebrate spring or the Easter holidays by making hot cross buns, sweet rolls with currants or raisins and light frosting. Because buns are commonly small and round, the hairstyle that involves a tight coil of hair on the top or back of the head is also called a bun. The origin is probably the French buignete, "a fritter," which had the unpleasant original meaning of "a boil" or "a skin swelling."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bun X has received a number of negative reviews on social media, TripAdvisor and Google, Taylor says.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
Chasing visitors around Cambodia's Angkor temple ruins to offer his services, tour guide Bun Ratana says he has had little work since deadly clashes with Thailand broke out, despite it being high season.
From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025
At The Noortwyck, we have the foie gras butter that pairs with our Duck Bun and we also include it in the albufera sauce for our chicken dish.
From Salon • Nov. 13, 2024
Bun B’s Instagram announcement prompted tributes in the comments from additional hip-hop stars including Jermaine Dupri, Wu Tang’s Ghostface Killah and Jadakiss.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2024
“He’s really pretty decent, isn’t he? Bun always said he reminded him of you.”
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
