bum
1Informal. an enthusiast of a specific sport or recreational activity, especially one who gives it priority over work, family life, etc.: a ski bum; a tennis bum.
Informal. an incompetent person.
a drunken orgy; debauch.
Informal. to borrow without expectation of returning; get for nothing; cadge: He's always bumming cigarettes from me.
Slang. to ruin or spoil: The weather bummed our whole weekend.
to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.
to live as a hobo.
Slang. of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; unsatisfactory: I figured $300 was a bum deal for a minor repair, but I paid it anyway.
Slang. fraudulent or fake: He was accused of issuing a bum check for $2920.
Slang. disappointing; unpleasant.
Slang. erroneous or ill-advised; misleading: I think the gauge is giving me a bum readout.
Slang. physically disabled, impaired, or injured: a bum leg.
bum around, Informal. to travel, wander, or spend one's time aimlessly: We bummed around for a couple of hours after work.
Idioms about bum
bum (someone) out, Slang. to disappoint, upset, or annoy: It really bummed me out that she could have helped and didn't.
on the bum, Informal.
living or traveling as or in a manner suggesting that of a hobo or tramp.
in a state of disrepair or disorder: The oven is on the bum again.
Origin of bum
1Other words for bum
Words Nearby bum
Other definitions for bum (2 of 2)
Origin of bum
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use bum in a sentence
Neither high-rise nor bikini style, it sits a couple of inches below the belly button and provides full bum coverage—nothing fancy, just a classic fit.
So, if you were ever bummed out in the way Feld suggested, cheer up—the reality is much more complicated than the headline.
Why You May Have More Friends Than Your Friends Do - Facts So Romantic | Joshua Holden | August 20, 2021 | NautilusSo in late 1975, they bummed around all up and down the California heartland, casing various country towns and accounting for their advantages and disadvantages.
I glanced up and saw it was none other than the stranger who had bummed cigarettes from us.
When I was 27, I quit my job to travel and ski-bum, and by that point I had managed to save a small sum that could float me for a year.
Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money | jversteegh | July 13, 2021 | Outside Online
Rumours that Lego are producing a new clip-on Pippa bum are unfounded.
bum-boats selling goods before sunrising and after sunsetting are very hardly dealt with.
So Jack gave the cow to the man and took the bum-clock himself, and started for home.
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore | Laure Claire FoucherAnd when the man lifted the bum-clock and put it in his pocket, everybody stopped jigging and dancing and everyone laughed loud.
Stories to Read or Tell from Fairy Tales and Folklore | Laure Claire FoucherAn intelligent correspondent suggests that brandy would be about the thing, but that it should be labelled "Bay bum."
They served us desserts made with bum Berry goo As we danced to the tune of the didgeridoo.
FreeChildrenStories.com Collection | Daniel Errico
British Dictionary definitions for bum (1 of 2)
/ (bʌm) /
British slang the buttocks or anus
Origin of bum
1British Dictionary definitions for bum (2 of 2)
/ (bʌm) informal /
a disreputable loafer or idler
a tramp; hobo
an irresponsible, unpleasant, or mean person
a person who spends a great deal of time on a specified sport: baseball bum
on the bum
living as a loafer or vagrant
out of repair; broken
(tr) to get by begging; cadge: to bum a lift
(intr often foll by around) to live by begging or as a vagrant or loafer
(intr usually foll by around) to spend time to no good purpose; loaf; idle
bum someone off US and Canadian slang to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
(prenominal) of poor quality; useless
wrong or inappropriate: a bum note
Origin of bum
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with bum
In addition to the idioms beginning with bum
- bum around
- bum out
- bum rap
- bum steer
also see:
- on the blink (bum)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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