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.
He took $10 bus rides to Boston to meet with investors and attend HBS conferences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
It’s designed to be transit-oriented, as the grounds between the Santa Monica Pier and Bay Street will be steps from the E Line terminus, several major bus routes and a bike valet service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
After the attack, the men returned to their hotel by bus and had a barbecue later that evening, the jury heard.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
That’s a reference to how it would be darker and colder on winter mornings for children walking to their bus stops and schools.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
When the bus was weaving around the streets near school, he suddenly ripped out a piece of loose-leaf paper and began to scrawl something on it.
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 was uncomfortable for two hours on the bus. That stuff is sticky, smelly and disgusting.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2023
“Only twenty cents each. That’s forty cents total. No bus. We’ll walk.”
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
To get airport transportation running normally again, the Lobito company hired a worker whose sole job is to physically check beneath parked buses for napping iguanas before drivers start their engines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
After confirming the journey on a touchscreen, the vehicle merges into Beijing's dense traffic, navigating buses, cyclists, scooters and pedestrians with little hesitation.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
"I also walk instead of getting buses for shorter journeys."
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
Still, several African governments -- including Nigeria, Malawi, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique -- have organised voluntary repatriation flights and buses for their citizens.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Dr. Krupp thought it was ridiculous to send out that many buses with so few students — an opinion all the bus drivers agreed with.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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
Most of the Afghan nationals were brought to the centers in rickety busses, some of them handcuffed.
From Reuters ● Nov. 1, 2023
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
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
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
Harris’ ambitions bloomed at Thousand Oaks Elementary, where she was among the first bused to a new school as part of Berkeley’s voluntary desegregation program while other parts of the country resisted merging districts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024
Olympics as an example: Spectators and athletes were bused down reserved lanes on empty roads in an unprecedented two-week traffic holiday.
From Slate ● Oct. 21, 2024
The high school team now got bused to his club after school, a short five-minute ride away.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
“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
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
Whitney Young was named for a civil rights activist and had been opened in 1975 as a positive-minded alternative to busing.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Some could be seen clad in blue protective gear as they were bussed from the Granadilla de Abona port to Tenerife South Airport.
From BBC ● May 10, 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 ● Jan. 19, 2025
And there's a guy bussing the table, like a late 30s guy.
From Salon ● May 18, 2024
“I’ve only played three games. It’s kind of crazy. Come back from not going to training camp and bussing kids around?”
From Washington Times ● Dec. 21, 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.
