bum
1 Americannoun
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a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler.
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a tramp, hobo, or derelict.
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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.
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Informal. an incompetent person.
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a drunken orgy; debauch.
verb (used with object)
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bums,
present (3rd person singular)
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bummed,
past participle, past
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bumming
present participle
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Informal. to borrow without expectation of returning; get for nothing; cadge.
He's always bumming cigarettes from me.
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Slang. to ruin or spoil.
The weather bummed our whole weekend.
verb (used without object)
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bums,
present (3rd person singular)
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bummed,
past participle, past
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bumming
present participle
-
to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.
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to live as a hobo.
adjective
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Slang. of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; unsatisfactory.
I figured $300 was a bum deal for a minor repair, but I paid it anyway.
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Slang. fraudulent or fake.
He was accused of issuing a bum check for $2920.
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Slang. disappointing; unpleasant.
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Slang. erroneous or ill-advised; misleading.
I think the gauge is giving me a bum readout.
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Slang. physically disabled, impaired, or injured.
a bum leg.
verb phrase
idioms
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on the bum,
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living or traveling as or in a manner suggesting that of a hobo or tramp.
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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
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a disreputable loafer or idler
-
a tramp; hobo
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an irresponsible, unpleasant, or mean person
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a person who spends a great deal of time on a specified sport
baseball bum
-
-
living as a loafer or vagrant
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out of repair; broken
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verb
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(tr) to get by begging; cadge
to bum a lift
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to live by begging or as a vagrant or loafer
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to spend time to no good purpose; loaf; idle
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slang to disappoint, annoy, or upset someone
adjective
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(prenominal) of poor quality; useless
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wrong or inappropriate
a bum note
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bumsimple
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bumssimple
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have bummedperfect
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has bummedperfect
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am bummingprogressive
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are bummingprogressive
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is bummingprogressive
-
have been bummingperfect progressive
-
has been bummingperfect progressive
Past
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bummedsimple
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had bummedperfect
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was bummingprogressive
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were bummingprogressive
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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:
Along the breezy streets, you’ll find a tale of two eras: the town’s surf bum past and its glitzy present.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 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
It's squeaky bum time in the Premier League title race.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
Advancements that seek to end the friction of reality — the freak occurrences, edge cases and bum luck of a given day — ultimately sap the world of excitement and color.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026
“I was sure the whole building would bum to the ground,” I said.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
She detects a generalized funk poisoning our existence and asks, not unreasonably, “What is with this bummer veil cast over everything fun or exciting?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
It’s a major betrayal for Rick and a bummer for the audience, who never get to see the two make music together again.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
While owners can turn off the banner ads, doing so eliminates the widget altogether, a bummer for Brian Bosworth, a media-industry engineer who liked the feature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
It’s a bit of a bummer that ad blocking only works with Lightway.
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2026
That was kind of a bummer, but okay.
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
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
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
The Pad was lambasted in the print-shop windows where caricaturists laid into all the ludicrous fashions: bums, breasts, bellies, skirts, hats, and hair.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
The Red Apple attracted Route 66 tourists and beach bums alike who could avail themselves of the Red Apple’s in-room radios and kitchenettes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2025
This time round they want to add to the tally in counties like Shropshire, Gloucestershire and Kent, where they already have bums on seats.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2025
Her skin was pink and tender, and a pale milky fluid was leaking from her cracked palms, but her bums were healing.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
“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
Yet with these new songs out in the world, the three musicians don’t seem particularly bummed not to have their old ones in ready circulation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 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 would be terrified that I’d never live this moment down, and Michelle is only bummed Leo is in his own world?!
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
We had this life that was mainly just bumming around on your bike and drinking coffee.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2023
Summing up his life in the mid-1980s, he wrote, “I was still bumming a ride on my Academy nomination.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
“We grew up bumming on the lake and not taking showers and no TV and no internet,” Sweeney said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
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
Definitions 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.
