Synonyms

bull session

American

noun

Informal.

an informal, spontaneous discussion.

bull session British

noun

informal an informal discussion, often among men

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bull session Idioms

An informal discussion, as in College students love late-night bull sessions about anything and everything, from professors to poetry to politics. This expression originally referred to an exchange of opinions and anecdotes, including stories of sexual prowess, by men, and then came to be used more broadly. [Slang; c. 1915]

Etymology

Origin of bull session

First recorded in 1915–20

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.

Their musings are as substantial as a late-night bull session in a college dorm room.

From Salon • Aug. 12, 2023

Its mix of Twitter-centric water cooler talk, free-form bull session, and a deluge of takes “sprayed” by its hosts has pushed the podcast to outgrow its origin story.

From New York Times • Sep. 22, 2021

We gathered at the Peace Corps nurses' quarters after dinner, talking well into the evening and sharing our successes and obstacles and brainstorming, much like a college bull session.

From US News • Sep. 29, 2016

Remember the most boring freshman-year bull session you ever had?

From Slate • Jan. 24, 2013

“From what Al told me, you all had quite a little lethal bull session late one night—the same night you made that tape, I believe.”

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023