bugle
1 Americannoun
verb (used without object)
-
bugles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bugled,
past participle, past
-
bugling
present participle
-
to sound a bugle.
-
(of bull elks) to utter a rutting call.
verb (used with object)
-
bugles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bugled,
past participle, past
-
bugling
present participle
noun
noun
adjective
noun
verb
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
buglesimple
-
buglessimple
-
have bugledperfect
-
has bugledperfect
-
am buglingprogressive
-
are buglingprogressive
-
is buglingprogressive
-
have been buglingperfect progressive
-
has been buglingperfect progressive
Past
-
bugledsimple
-
had bugledperfect
-
was buglingprogressive
-
were buglingprogressive
-
had been buglingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bugle1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bugle, bugel, bewgal “wild ox, buffalo, water buffalo, drinking horn, (instrument) horn, bugle,” from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin būculus “young bull, bullock, young ox,” equivalent to bū- variant stem of bōs “cow, ox, bull” + -culus diminutive noun suffix; see origin at -cle 1, cow 1
Origin of bugle2
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English bugle, bugil, buygel, bewgle, from Old French, from Late Latin būgillo the name of the plant; further origin uncertain
Origin of bugle3
First recorded in 1570–80; of obscure origin; perhaps an extended sense of bugle 1 ( def. )
Explanation
A bugle is a very simple brass instrument. Bugles are commonly used in the military to mark parts of the day, including first thing in the morning. Bugles are notable for their lack of valves — instead of controlling pitch with the fingers, a bugler does it entirely with her lips on the mouthpiece. The traditional bugle call is the series of notes used in military camps to signal daybreak and dusk, and sometimes other daily routines. Bugle was originally an Old French word meaning "musical horn," but also "wild ox" or "buffalo." The "horn" meaning came from the curled shape of an animal's horn.
Vocabulary lists containing bugle
Top 50 Wordle Words of 2024
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Musical Instruments - Introductory
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Musical Instruments - Middle School
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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:
City Hall, which dates to the 16th century, toots out a cheerful jazz bugle call several times a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Morris held the microphone with both hands like he was blowing on a bugle and urging the crowd to charge.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2025
"Eventually the bugle stopped blowing and he was never seen again," Dr Waterman adds.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
This is the position soldiers assume every day on an army post as the flag is lowered and the bugle call “Retreat” is played.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2024
They had a recording of a bugle that played in the morning.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
Some 4,000 troops marched in formation through the streets, their scarlet sleeves and white gloves swinging in unison to the sound of drums and bugles from marching bands, including one group of musicians on horseback.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2023
Indeed, I didn’t know about salmon runs, elk bugles and warbler migration routes like my classmates did.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 22, 2022
Firefighters waved from the back of an old truck festooned with fairy lights and Christmas gifts, while officers of the Guardia Civil police force rode in on white horses blowing bugles.
From Reuters ● Jan. 5, 2022
Standing alongside their nurses and listening to the bugles play, residents with dementia who often could not remember what they had for dinner the night before would slowly remove their hats.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 7, 2020
During one futile counterattack, “the French infantry made a gallant show, advancing across the Belgian beet fields with colors unfurled and bugles sounding the shrill notes of the ‘charge.’
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
“I’m coming up here to be the best player in the country,” he bugled, and The Fiver’s not about to mock a man for being self-confident.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 15, 2016
When others sulked about the shape of things to come, he chortled, bounced, sniggered and bugled.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last May they bugled their love for each other in a $30,000 newspaper ad and scoffed at separation rumors even as each of them was photographed with other stunning companions.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is bugled as "the New Definition of Dictionary," the "newest, biggest and best."
From Time Magazine Archive
"It was as though the very constellations knew our impending sorrow," he bugled, his head raised to the ceiling, his voice full-throated.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
The distinct sound of bugling bull elks reverberated across the hills.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2020
The drivable North Carolina side of the park is much less crowded; this old high-mountain valley has huge herds of elk you can hear bugling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2018
He plays in several bands with his wife, Carol Kowzan, and has just picked up viola, so he wouldn’t mind slowing down his bugling career.
From Washington Times ● May 23, 2015
They could be heard bugling away in the site office, and could be observed from the office door.
From Newsweek ● Mar. 12, 2015
Chiavari, the historic little port between Genoa and Pisa, is more noted as the birthplace of the barbaric "chivaree" razzing of newlyweds with its raucous serenade of dishpans, sour-note bugling and such.
From The Complete Book of Cheese by Robert Carlton Brown
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.
