bum

[ buhm ]

/ bʌm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bum ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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), bummed, bum·ming.

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), bummed, bum·ming.

to sponge on others for a living; lead an idle or dissolute life.

to live as a hobo.

adjective, bum·mer, bum·mest. Slang.

of poor, wretched, or miserable quality; worthless.

disappointing; unpleasant.

erroneous or ill-advised; misleading: That tip on the stock market was a bum steer.

lame: a bum leg.

Verb Phrases

bum around, Informal. to travel, wander, or spend one's time aimlessly: We bummed around for a couple of hours after work.

Nearby words

bulrush, bultmann, bulwark, bulwer, bulwer-lytton, bum, bum around, bum bag, bum out, bum rap, bum steer

Idioms

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

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

2 vagabond, vagrant.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bum ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for bummed (1 of 2)

bum

/ (bʌm) /

noun

British slang the buttocks or anus

Word Origin for bum

C14: of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for bummed (2 of 2)

bum

/ (bʌm) informal /

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 sportbaseball bum

on the bum

living as a loafer or vagrant
out of repair; broken

verb bums, bumming or bummed

(tr) to get by begging; cadgeto 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

adjective

(prenominal) of poor quality; useless

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 bummed (1 of 4)

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]

Word Origin and History for bummed (1 of 4)

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.

Word Origin and History for bummed (2 of 4)

bum

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.

Word Origin and History for bummed (3 of 4)

bum

adj.

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

Idioms and Phrases with bummed

bum

In addition to the idioms beginning with bum

bum around
bum out
bum rap
bum steer

also see:

on the blink (bum)

bum

noun

verb (used with object), bummed, bum·ming.