bum
1 Americannoun
-
a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler.
-
a tramp, hobo, or derelict.
-
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.
-
Informal. an incompetent person.
-
a drunken orgy; debauch.
verb (used with object)
-
bums,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bummed,
past participle, past
-
bumming
present participle
-
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.
verb (used without object)
-
bums,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bummed,
past participle, past
-
bumming
present participle
-
to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.
-
to live as a hobo.
adjective
-
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.
verb phrase
idioms
-
on the bum,
-
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.
-
-
bum (someone) out, to disappoint, upset, or annoy.
It really bummed me out that she could have helped and didn't.
noun
noun
-
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
-
-
living as a loafer or vagrant
-
out of repair; broken
-
verb
-
(tr) to get by begging; cadge
to bum a lift
-
to live by begging or as a vagrant or loafer
-
to spend time to no good purpose; loaf; idle
-
slang to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
adjective
-
(prenominal) of poor quality; useless
-
wrong or inappropriate
a bum note
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bumsimple
-
bumssimple
-
have bummedperfect
-
has bummedperfect
-
am bummingprogressive
-
are bummingprogressive
-
is bummingprogressive
-
have been bummingperfect progressive
-
has been bummingperfect progressive
Past
-
bummedsimple
-
had bummedperfect
-
was bummingprogressive
-
were bummingprogressive
-
had been bummingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bum1
An Americanism first recorded in 1860–65; perhaps a shortening of or back formation from bummer 1; adjective senses of unclear relation to sense “loafer” and perhaps of distinct origin
Origin of bum2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bom; of uncertain origin
Explanation
Your bum is your bottom. This word can also be used to refer to a vagrant, although it's generally considered offensive or insensitive. Bum is a name sometimes given to a beggar or vagrant: someone who tries to bum change from you. This word can also be used as a general insult, as in "The Yankees are bums!" (if you're a Red Sox fan) or "The Red Sox are bums!" (if you're a Yankees fan). A false accusation is a bum rap. As a verb, bum is a term for lazing around, as in, "I didn't have any homework this afternoon, so I just bummed around and played video games."
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.
See Examples For:
Pearl Jam protested the practices of Columbia House, and the bum deal it gave artists, but made little headway as the club boomed to 16 million members in the 1990s.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
When he substitutes a pitcher or a hitter and it works out, Dave is a hero, and when it doesn’t work out, Dave is a bum.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
Baker, a Dartmouth College grad and former ski bum who once worked as a housekeeper at a mountain lodge in Utah, started working at Fidelity in 1999 as an analyst.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
If Leeds lose this, then it is squeaky bum time for them with games to come against Tottenham and West Ham, but they won't mess up.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
But to the strange and wonderful relief of Zaire and the world, the virus never went on a bum through the city.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Pondering the potential heat death of humanity is a bummer of a way to start the week, I know.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026
That’s a bummer for the engineers developing humanoids with miraculous applications, like autonomous disaster-response bots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Certainly not from the game itself; basketball moves fast, and a bummer can become a bust in a blink.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026
In those years, all the cool surf brands made cute surf clothing, but the emphasis was decidedly more on the aesthetic than the function, which was a bummer when it came to, you know, surfing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
It’s kind of a bummer to think your own dad might have been someone who called you Gorgeous.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
Say," he cried, "Snake's Fall is just the bummest location this side of the Sahara on a Sunday.
From The Son of his Father by Ridgwell Cullum
Aspen has been soul-searching for half a century, since hippie ski bums began ceding ground to luxury real-estate developers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Sir Alan Sugar made headlines last year when he said workers should "get their bums back into the office" and accused young people of just wanting "to sit at home".
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
I tried to get into the gym and, I don’t know, something about the gym environment really bums me out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
Wells said he was angry with Gill because he felt he had been "using people around him, like me I guess, to put bums on seats".
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
The bums who retired in disgust under the black cypress tree come out to sit on the rusty pipes in the vacant lot.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
“I’m both envious,” she said, “and a bit bummed out.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
“In the office, we actually get really bummed when we realize we’re having a conversation and we forgot to turn on Granola,” she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
"The level is crazy. I had to put a lot down to get here, but I am definitely bummed how we couldn't fully do a final," Brown told World Skate.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
Bowen Yang is in a huge number of commercials these days, and every time I see him, I get a little more bummed out.
From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2026
I just feel weird that my grandparents are acting so bummed out to be seeing me.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
We had this life that was mainly just bumming around on your bike and drinking coffee.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2023
Her family life was volatile, though, and she left home at 15 or so, bumming around the Bay Area.
From New York Times ● May 17, 2023
By the time the clock hit zeros, the Steelers were bumming and the Chiefs were celebrating.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2022
The NFL has squeezed its overtime period from 15 minutes to 10, bumming out some.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2021
"He was probably bumming his way home. He told me he was president of your class at Yale."
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
