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definitions

bum

1
[buhm]
See more synonyms for bum on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler.
  2. a tramp, hobo, or derelict.
  3. Informal. 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.
  4. Informal. an incompetent person.
  5. a drunken orgy; debauch.
verb (used with object), bummed, bum·ming.
  1. Informal. to borrow without expectation of returning; get for nothing; cadge: He's always bumming cigarettes from me.
  2. Slang. to ruin or spoil: The weather bummed our whole weekend.
verb (used without object), bummed, bum·ming.
  1. to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.
  2. to live as a hobo.
adjective, bum·mer, bum·mest. Slang.
  1. of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; worthless.
  2. disappointing; unpleasant.
  3. erroneous or ill-advised; misleading: That tip on the stock market was a bum steer.
  4. lame: a bum leg.
Verb Phrases
  1. bum around, Informal. to travel, wander, or spend one's time aimlessly: We bummed around for a couple of hours after work.
Idioms
  1. bum (someone) out, Slang. to disappoint, upset, or annoy: It really bummed me out that she could have helped and didn't.
  2. on the bum, Informal.
    1. living or traveling as or in a manner suggesting that of a hobo or tramp.
    2. in a state of disrepair or disorder: The oven is on the bum again.

Origin of bum

1
1860–65, Americanism; perhaps shortening of or back formation from bummer1; adj. senses of unclear relation to sense “loafer” and perhaps of distinct orig.

Synonyms for bum

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2. vagabond, vagrant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bum around

laze, loll, trek, traipse, ramble, stray, drift, prowl, tramp, meander, saunter, stroll, loiter, procrastinate, mosey, trifle, lie, stall, slack, relax
British Dictionary definitions for bum around

bum

1
noun
  1. British slang the buttocks or anus

Word Origin for bum

C14: of uncertain origin

bum

2
noun
  1. a disreputable loafer or idler
  2. a tramp; hobo
  3. an irresponsible, unpleasant, or mean person
  4. a person who spends a great deal of time on a specified sportbaseball bum
  5. on the bum
    1. living as a loafer or vagrant
    2. out of repair; broken
verb bums, bumming or bummed
  1. (tr) to get by begging; cadgeto bum a lift
  2. (intr often foll by around) to live by begging or as a vagrant or loafer
  3. (intr usually foll by around) to spend time to no good purpose; loaf; idle
  4. bum someone off US and Canadian slang to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
adjective
  1. (prenominal) of poor quality; useless
  2. wrong or inappropriatea bum note

Word Origin for bum

C19: probably shortened from earlier bummer a loafer, probably from German bummeln to loaf
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
Word Origin and History for bum around

bum

n.1

"buttocks," late 14c., "probably onomatopœic, to be compared with other words of similar sound and with the general sense of 'protuberance, swelling.' " [OED]

bum

n.2

"dissolute loafer, tramp," 1864, American English, from bummer "loafer, idle person" (1855), probably from German slang bummler "loafer," from bummeln "go slowly, waste time." Bum first appears in a German-American context, and bummer was popular in the slang of the North's army in the American Civil War (as many as 216,000 German immigrants in the ranks). Bum's rush "forcible ejection" first recorded 1910.

bum

v.

1863, "to loaf and beg," American English, a word from the Civil War, perhaps a back-formation from bummer "loafer," or from bum (n.). Meaning "to feel depressed" is from 1973, perhaps from bummer in the "bad experience" sense. Related: Bummed; bumming.

bum

adj.

"of poor quality," 1859, American English, from bum (n.). Bum steer in figurative sense of "bad advice" attested from 1901.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with bum around

bum around

1

Loaf, wander idly, as in After graduating he decided to bum around Europe for a year. [Mid-1800s]

2

Frequent bars or nightclubs, as in Her father accused her of bumming around half the night and threatened to cut off her allowance. In the mid-1800s to bum was slang for going on a drinking spree. A century later, with the addition of around, it simply meant going to saloons or clubs.

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.