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• bus
  bus

  noun

  a large motor vehicle, having a long body, equipped with seats or benches for passengers, usually operating as part of a scheduled service; omnibus.
• bus.
  bus.

  abbreviation

  business.

bus

¹ American  

[buhs] / bʌs /

noun

• buses,
  plural
• busses
  plural

1. a large motor vehicle, having a long body, equipped with seats or benches for passengers, usually operating as part of a scheduled service; omnibus.

2. (formerly) a similar horse-drawn vehicle.

3. a passenger automobile or airplane used in a manner resembling that of a bus.

4. any vehicle operated to transport children to school.

5. a low, movable filing cabinet.

6. Also called busbar, bus bar. Electricity. a heavy conductor, often made of copper in the shape of a bar, used to collect, carry, and distribute powerful electric currents, as those produced by generators.

7. Computers. a circuit that connects the CPU with other devices in a computer.

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verb (used with object)

bused, bussed, busing, bussing

1. to convey or transport by bus.

   to bus the tourists to another hotel.

2. to transport (pupils) to school by bus, especially as a means of achieving socioeconomic or racial diversity among students in a public school.

verb (used without object)

bused, bussed, busing, bussing

1. to travel on or by means of a bus.

   We bused to New York on a theater trip.

idioms

1. throw (someone or something) under the bus, to abandon or sacrifice to an imminent negative outcome for expedience or profit, or to protect oneself and one's interests.

   The accused was asked to testify against Tony, but he refused to save himself by throwing his pal under the bus.

bus ² American  

[buhs] / bʌs /

verb (used with or without object)

bused, bussed, busing, bussing

1. to work or act as a busboy or busgirl.

   She bused for her meals during her student days.

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bus. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. business.

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bus British  

/ bʌs /

noun

1. Sometimes called: motorbus. More formal name: omnibus. a large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers between stopping places along a regular route

2. short for trolleybus

3. (modifier) of or relating to a bus or buses

   a bus driver

   a bus station

4. informal a car or aircraft, esp one that is old and shaky

5. electronics computing short for busbar

6. the part of a MIRV missile payload containing the re-entry vehicles and guidance and thrust devices

7. astronautics a platform in a space vehicle used for various experiments and processes

8. to miss an opportunity; be too late

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verb

1. to travel or transport by bus

2. to transport (children) by bus from one area to a school in another in order to create racially integrated classes

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• buses
  plural
• busses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bus¹

First recorded in 1825–35; short for omnibus; bus ¹ def. 6 short for omnibus bar

Origin of bus²

First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from busboy

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Explanation

A bus is a long vehicle with many seats. An elementary school student might save a seat on the school bus each morning for her best friend. A city bus carries far more passengers than a private car, which makes it an efficient form of transportation. When bus is used as a verb, it means to transport by bus, sometimes in an effort to desegregate a school district: "The city will bus students from this neighborhood to the other side of town." It also means "to clear a table" in restaurant lingo, which is often done by a "bus boy" or a "busser."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bus bus. buses busses bused busing bussed bussing

Additions like a full bus system, detailed non-player characters and a much, much larger map all have gamers itching to start playing.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026

Rome is one of those airports where you take a bus to passport control and baggage claim, at least on certain airlines including American.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Another $257 million was set aside last summer to create and enhance “mobility hubs” that connect pedestrians, bicyclists and bus and train riders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

The prime minister's plan to reinstate the £2 cap on bus fares in England from January to be in effect throughout 2027.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Coach folds his arms with a glare but smiles as I follow the other athletes off the bus.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

"There were no other vehicles involved -- only the bus. And that bus caught fire... we are currently trying to determine the precise reason why this happened," Papaux told reporters.

From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026

"I literally today will go on a bus. People will see me either put their heads down or they will start the conversation," she says.

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026

“We’re now sleeping on the bus. There’s nothing happening. We’re just idling there forever.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

“If he owns the bus. If he owns it. If he owns the bus, Iyanla,” Williams replied after a moment of hesitation.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2023

“Because if you are, I’ll take a bus. If you’re not, I’d like to walk with you and tell you something very interesting.”

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Residents had a four-hour window to leave before a convoy of 25 buses, with space for 750 people, left the town on Friday afternoon - along with ambulances for people with limited mobility.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

A stretch of London's iconic Oxford Street was made traffic-free "forever" starting Monday, as pedestrians took over the country's most famous shopping street, absent of the capital's red double-decker buses and black cabs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

In Kashgar, middle-aged Chinese men in cowboy hats descend from tour buses to chow down on grilled lamb skewers and pilaf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Now, Hargrave relies on Chicago’s public buses and trains with a $75 monthly pass, and spends less than $200 a month on Ubers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

At last the huge gate swung in and a convoy of gray transport buses drove through.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

After graduating from college, Batter moves to New York, where he folds shirts at the Gap and busses tables at a restaurant named Just Okay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Long before cars were common and busses were running, residents still got around on the backs of their horse carts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

“What moderates are worried about is not just the ideas that he has run on like free busses and, you know, grocery stores, that kind of thing,” Bennett said.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2025

They have often targeted busses travelling to and from the capital.

From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2025

Where my mother changed busses she'd gone into a store and bought him a trowel and four packets of seeds.

From "Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman

Others have bused to airports in Bahrain and Qatar to both exit and enter the kingdom.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

In August 2024, Novo Nordisk bused its employees to the sprawling Roskilde fairgrounds outside Copenhagen for its annual summer party.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

After evacuating the plane, the passengers were bused back to the terminal as emergency crews responded to the scene, DIA said.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

A few years later, I was bused across town to a much worse—and more diverse—middle school.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026

The high school team now got bused to his club after school, a short five-minute ride away.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

If a state decides to fund services such as tutoring, therapy, school lunches, busing and on-campus nurses, then faith-based schools are entitled to participate alongside nonsectarian counterparts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

“Sound of Freedom” had church groups busing to theaters to watch the movie in hordes.

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

Docter said later that busing “should have been introduced on a voluntary basis to dispel fears among the majority population and resist white flight.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

Instead, the city is busing students to schools that have extra space.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025

He had been a superintendent for a number of rural school districts in Mississippi, where he had spent his life forming busing systems and magnet schools to better integrate the black and white students.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

The Pakistan team were bussed to the wrong arena for their game with Uzbekistan the same day, delaying the start of their match by 45 minutes.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

When we were done, we bussed our own tables and sorted our garbage from our recycling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026

Instead, they were taken by military plane directly to Panama, did not go through customs upon arrival and were immediately detained in the hotel until they were bussed to the camp.

From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2025

Schiff was a familiar face to many of the volunteers, who had been bussed in from California by labor unions to knock on doors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2024

Ignatius bent down and lightly bussed her on the cheek.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

At times, Kansteiner says, she’ll find Velador in the dining room bussing tables to help because she knows the restaurant’s staff is overwhelmed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025

Under US diplomatic pressure, Mexico has been conducting its largest ever migrant crackdown, bussing and flying non-Mexican migrants to the country’s south, far from the US border.

From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2024

And there's a guy bussing the table, like a late 30s guy.

From Salon ● May 18, 2024

Other cities that have received immigrants through bussing include Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and Washington.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

I even like bussing tables in the restaurant, chatting with guests when I have a chance, and swapping stories with my coworkers.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

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