bun1
- any of a wide variety of variously shaped bread rolls, usually leavened and slightly sweetened or plain, sometimes containing spices, dried currants, etc.
- hair gathered into a round coil or knot at the nape of the neck or on top of the head in certain coiffures.
- buns, Slang. the buttocks.
Origin of bun1
bun2
- have a bun on, Slang. to be intoxicated: Everyone at the party seemed to have a bun on.
Origin of bun2
BUN
- blood urea nitrogen: the concentration of nitrogen in the blood in the form of urea, indicating kidney function.
Examples from the Web for bun
Contemporary Examples
No mayonnaise, only butter, which had been absorbed, sponge-style, into the bun.
She was smiling, hair pulled back neatly in a bun, and 32 at the time of her death.
The $6 item comes with a bun and burger along with cheese, ketchup, pickles, and requires about 10 minutes of cooking time.
Camel in a Can and 6 More Weird Canned MeatsJanuary 5, 2014
“We were very careful about how we got the bun in there,” said Newlands.
As Mrs. Bun quickly realizes, trying to order anything without spam will only get you into trouble.
Historical Examples
I might, unnoticed, of course, snatch a bun from its grasp now and then.
Ruggles of Red GapHarry Leon Wilson
He smelled of the apple, and he looked at the bun, but that was all.
I want you up here to help me and Bun Hin's Chinaman to count that money.
TyphoonJoseph Conrad
I was thinkin' 't was 'most a pity you hadn't had bun sandwiches.
Peak and PrairieAnna Fuller
Her eyes looked like raisins in a bun and her mouth had almost disappeared.
Mary Louise and Josie O'GormanEmma Speed Sampson
bun
- a small roll, similar to bread but usually containing sweetening, currants, spices, etc
- any of various types of small round sweet cakes
- a hairstyle in which long hair is gathered into a bun shape at the back of the head
- have a bun in the oven slang to be pregnant
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for bun
n.
late 14c., origin obscure, perhaps from Old French buignete "a fritter," originally "boil, swelling," diminutive of buigne "swelling from a blow, bump on the head," from a Germanic source (cf. Middle High German bunge "clod, lump"), or from Gaulish *bunia (cf. Gaelic bonnach). Spanish buñelo "a fritter" apparently is from the same source. Of hair coiled at the back of the head, first attested 1894. To have a bun in the oven "be pregnant" is from 1951.
The first record of buns in the sense of "male buttocks" is from 1960s, perhaps from a perceived similarity; but bun also meant "tail of a hare" (1530s) in Scottish and northern England dialect and was transferred to human beings (and conveniently rhymed with nun in ribald ballads). This may be an entirely different word; OED points to Gaelic bun "stump, root."
BUN
- blood urea nitrogen