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

Flies congregate by the bulbs, probably gossiping about the latest meal they had.

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The tulip bulbs had been homely as turnips when planted, but a winter spent underground had worked its magic.

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Lady Constance poked at the tulip bulbs with her parasol’s sharp tip.

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If there had been a light bulb over his head, it would have lit up.

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The bulb in the ceiling fixture was out.

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Related Words

• corn