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Synonyms

bun

1 American  
[buhn] / bʌn /

noun

  1. any of a wide variety of variously shaped bread rolls, usually leavened and slightly sweetened or plain, sometimes containing spices, dried currants, etc.

  2. hair gathered into a round coil or knot at the nape of the neck or on top of the head in certain coiffures.

  3. Slang. buns, the buttocks.

bun 2 American  
[buhn] / bʌn /

idioms

  1. have a bun on, to be intoxicated.

    Everyone at the party seemed to have a bun on.
BUN 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. blood urea nitrogen: the concentration of nitrogen in the blood in the form of urea, indicating kidney function.

bun British  
/ bʌn /

noun

  1. a small roll, similar to bread but usually containing sweetening, currants, spices, etc

  2. any of various types of small round sweet cakes

  3. a hairstyle in which long hair is gathered into a bun shape at the back of the head

  4. slang to be pregnant

"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

Etymology

Origin of bun1

1325–75; Middle English bunne, possibly of Romance origin; buñuelo ( def. )

Origin of bun2

First recorded in 1900–05; of uncertain origin

Origin of BUN3

First recorded in 1915–20

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.

On it was a cartoon likeness of a smiling, winking chef with a face shaped like a hamburger bun and, in big red letters, the word “McDonald’s.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

The teen is wearing black glasses and braided hair styled in a bun with blue highlights.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

She mocked Paul Thomas Anderson’s award season favorite “One Battle After Another” by calling it “one man bun after another.”

From Salon • Jan. 12, 2026

She spoke softly with her blonde hair tied back in a bun while her lawyers asked that she be given proper medical treatment, including an xray of potentially bruised ribs and a fracture.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026

Nali was standing right in front of the mobile home, still in her pajamas, her long hair not yet woven into a bun.

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young

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.