bulb

[buhlb]

noun

1. Botany.

   1. a usually subterranean and often globular bud having fleshy leaves emergent at the top and a stem reduced to a flat disk, rooting from the underside, as in the onion and lily.

   2. a plant growing from such a bud.

2. any round, enlarged part, especially at the end of a cylindrical object.

   the bulb of a thermometer.

3. Electricity.

   1. the glass housing, in which a partial vacuum has been established, that contains the filament of an incandescent electric lamp.

   2. an incandescent or fluorescent electric lamp.

4. Anatomy.,  any of various small, bulb-shaped structures or protuberances.

   olfactory bulb; bulb of urethra.

5. medulla oblongata.

6. Building Trades.,  a rounded thickening at the toe of an angle iron or tee.

7. Nautical.,  a cylindrical or spherical prominence at the forefoot of certain vessels.

8. Photography.,  a shutter setting in which the shutter remains open as long as the shutter release is depressed. B

bulb

/ bʌlb /

noun

1. a rounded organ of vegetative reproduction in plants such as the tulip and onion: a flattened stem bearing a central shoot surrounded by fleshy nutritive inner leaves and thin brown outer leaves Compare corm

2. a plant, such as a hyacinth or daffodil, that grows from a bulb

3. See light bulb

4. a rounded part of an instrument such as a syringe or thermometer

5. anatomy a rounded expansion of a cylindrical organ or part, such as the medulla oblongata

6. Also called: bulbous bow. a bulbous protuberance at the forefoot of a ship to reduce turbulence

bulb

1. A rounded underground storage organ that contains the shoot of a new plant. A bulb consists of a short stem surrounded by fleshy scales (modified leaves) that store nourishment for the new plant. Tulips, lilies, and onions grow from bulbs.

2. Compare corm rhizome runner tuber

Other Word Forms

• bulbed adjective
• bulbless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bulb¹

1560–70; < Latin bulbus < Greek bolbós onion, bulbous plant

Word History and Origins

Origin of bulb¹

C16: from Latin bulbus , from Greek bolbos onion

Example Sentences

Investors paid enormous sums for tulip bulbs in the early 17th century, thinking their prices would rise indefinitely and fund the construction of houses and businesses.

Read more on Barron's

The co-operative provide and fit free door curtains, draught excluders, LED bulbs and more to eligible households living in fuel poverty.

Read more on BBC

The workers check and replace the large plastic bulbs on the long strings of lights and then use pulleys and hoists to hang and sometimes muscle those long strands of faceted lights onto the branches.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The burst of a thousand flash bulbs lit up the stadium.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“That’s when the light bulb went off for me. Why not bring some of these beautiful plants from the hills into our yard?”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• corn