a large motor vehicle, having a long body, equipped with seats or benches for passengers, usually operating as part of a scheduled service; omnibus.
(formerly) a similar horse-drawn vehicle.
a passenger automobile or airplane used in a manner resembling that of a bus.
any vehicle operated to transport children to school.
a low, movable filing cabinet.
Also called busbar. Also called 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.
Computers. a circuit that connects the CPU with other devices in a computer.
to convey or transport by bus.
to bus the tourists to another hotel.
to transport (pupils) to school by bus, especially as a means of achieving socioeconomic or racial diversity among students in a public school.
Sometimes called: motorbus. More formal name: omnibus. a large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers between stopping places along a regular route
short for trolleybus
(modifier) of or relating to a bus or buses
a bus driver
a bus station
informal a car or aircraft, esp one that is old and shaky
electronics computing short for busbar
the part of a MIRV missile payload containing the re-entry vehicles and guidance and thrust devices
astronautics a platform in a space vehicle used for various experiments and processes
to miss an opportunity; be too late
to travel or transport by bus
to transport (children) by bus from one area to a school in another in order to create racially integrated classes
First recorded in 1825–35; short for omnibus; bus 1 def. 6 short for omnibus bar
First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from busboy
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."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The government asserted that ICE was trying to locate a target when they approached three men, lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, at a bus stop in Pasadena, according to the motion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The same week as her trip to the grocery store, Amundson was driving when she saw six masked officers jump out of a car and swarm a man sitting alone at a bus stop.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
He unveiled the removal of a tax on household electricity bills, a planned cap on most bus fares in England and a 20 percent reduction in business rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
“Warsh is not the guy who drives the bus anymore. We have 12 independent voters. The chairman is one of 12,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
Since then, since that afternoon — on the bus, at night before bed — I had begun to think of ways I could save her life.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
"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
“We’re now sleeping on the bus. There’s nothing happening. We’re just idling there forever.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
“Now we’re driving the damn bus. I want you to understand what your power is.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
"I noticed her getting nervous about getting the bus. Then at night she started to cry," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2023
“Yes, Free Bee, I am taking this bus. Do you mind?’
From "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
Several buses have been chartered to transport elderly people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Since bringing the festival back last year to celebrate its 30-year anniversary, he’s switched his mode of transport from buses to planes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Gatwick's price hike comes as the airport tries to get more people arriving by trains and buses.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Malawi announced on Monday that more than 46,890 citizens had returned since early June, with the government providing 699 buses for the long journey home.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Time and school buses waited for no one.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
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
Before long, her Instagram page was filled with photos from Wimbledon and double-decker busses.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 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
He said the elderly were evacuated on busses to hotels or other care facilities.
From Reuters ● Aug. 23, 2023
It will only take two busses and lots of hours to pick up my mother and come back.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
In 2019, a self-described "caravan" of Americans bused to Canada to purchase cheaper insulin for type 1 diabetes - and to protest the costs in the US for the life-saving medication.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Once they were registered, the families with their bags and their pets were bused to Lozova station, to board a long train heading for Lviv in western Ukraine.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
When soldiers are returned to Russia, they are bused from Belarus, bordering Russia and Ukraine, where most exchanges occur.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
King/Drew walked four blocks to a practice field in the spring and summer and had to wait between 4 to 5 p.m. to be bused to a practice field during the season, he added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025
The next day they bused him for fourteen hours, all the way back to Guatemala.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
“Sound of Freedom” had church groups busing to theaters to watch the movie in hordes.
From Salon ● May 3, 2026
Working long hours doing a bit of everything—right down to busing tables—Meyer ate one at the end of almost every lunch shift.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Providing this busing was one of many elements considered in the complex project.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
Daryl, 42, a self-described conservative, lived in several Southern communities as a child, including Charlotte, North Carolina, in the mid-1980s as the city wrestled with its court-ordered school busing program.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2025
It was a day that had started with such high hopes: the varsity hoops team busing to Salt Lake for the state tournament.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Evacuees from surrounding villages were bussed in to shelter in sports halls around the capital.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
So, I would spend summers being bussed out or sleeping out at cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles’ houses to work on the farm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 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
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
That money's up to over $100 million today, but the point is that with all of the negotiations, all that prospecting, the guy that was bussing the table had the most money in the room.
From Salon ● May 18, 2024
In recent months, security forces began removing some migrants from the city, bussing them elsewhere and, migrants say, dumping some of them in the desert.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2023
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
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.
