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
“My buddy looks at me and I’m like, ‘Dude, the turnover in public schools is crazy,’” Puder said.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
He also assigned each player taking a penalty a "buddy" to greet them at the halfway line after the long walk back.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Jay Clayton has been a loyal ally and golf buddy of President Trump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
First stop: Mr. Smiley, the super at the building two doors down and the father of Angie, his basketball buddy.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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
The man who became Buddy Bradley was born Clarence Bradley Epps in 1905 in Clarkesville, Ga. Orphaned at 14, he moved to Harrisburg, Pa., and soon went to work as a busboy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 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
Her parents had a huge record collection, and her “dad loved The Beatles and Buddy Holly; mom loved Elvis.”
From Salon ● May 7, 2026
She had taken Buddy with her and left me in charge of Kermit here.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
“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
Before the plates were cleared, Greg Abbott told his buddies around the table that there was something else he wanted to order—and it wasn’t on the menu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
"Brian was there for two weeks, he spent the first week with one group of buddies and the second with another friend from America," she said.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
At the moment, Oliver was surrounded by his basketball buddies, who signed their own names and made up additional names and addresses to fill up the sheets.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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
As for Undecided, Robinson buddied up with Dawn Potts, her off-trail name, for the first 100 miles of the trek.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 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
Ministers’ aides were buddied up and told to get to grips with a different department so they could shadow each other if another fell sick.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 12, 2021
Today, parents are just one click away: buddied up on Facebook, logging on to Tumblr, peering over cryptic text messages and trying to get a glimpse of Snapchat images before they dissolve into the ether.
From New York Times ● May 3, 2013
The attorneys were buddying up to the client, like “I could do this for you, I’m going to do that for you, you can call me 24/7, I’m always available, I have your back.”
From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2019
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
But when his scar starts to sting again, he assumes the darkness that he feels and his disturbing dreams must be connected to the former Death Eater’s son who is buddying up to his son.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2016
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.
