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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

She advocated for protected bike lanes and expansion of bus lanes during her campaign.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

The German truck and bus maker said incoming orders at its North America trucks business grew 12% on year and overall global orders rose 10%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Photos circulating in French media show a blue and white bus tilted in what appears to be a ditch on the roadside.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Raman said she supports compliance with the measure, while supporting shared bike and bus lanes along narrower portions of the route.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

The bus driver stepped back between two of the seats to let them past him in the aisle.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Speaking with the author, Mr. Glassman bluntly characterized his leadership style: “I’m driving the bus. I want you to sit in the back and tell me who I ran over—not tell me where to drive.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

"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 want people to benefit wherever they live, including in less-dense, rural areas. The point of transit is not to have a bus. The point of transit is getting people where they need to be.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023

"I noticed her getting nervous about getting the bus. Then at night she started to cry," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2023

“I was on the bus. At least I think I was.”

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

She said the "logical conclusion is that we would need more buses" while Stagecoach's contract "would need to be expanded" to provide the additional capacity.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

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

An AFP journalist saw the residents, some draped in Ukrainian flags, disembark from buses and tearfully embrace their loved ones in emotional scenes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026

Humanitarian aid and evacuation buses will begin arriving later in the week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

She would still put the other kids on the buses and send them on their way, including Nicole.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

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

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

The vet and Crenshaw prepared to change busses at the next stop, and upon leaving, the vet placed his hand upon my shoulder and looked at me with kindness, and, as always, he smiled.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

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

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

A spokesperson for United said in an email statement all passengers exited the plane via slides and stairs, and were bused to the airport terminals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026

He had known—or at least known of—Pelicarnassus for all the years they’d been bused to their school.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

More than a year before the 2024 Games in Paris, the government began busing thousands of homeless people — many of them immigrants — to places such as Lyon and Marseille.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

Robert Docter, an L.A. school board member in the 1970s who successfully pushed to end corporal punishment and who sacrificed his political career trying to integrate campuses through busing, has died at 97.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

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

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

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

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 she was bussed over the border from Belarus into Lithuania with 51 other political prisoners.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025

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

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

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

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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