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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.  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.

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

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

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

Fire engines, ambulances and police were stationed on Landport Road, in Lewes, alongside a double decker bus by the community hub waiting for passengers to board.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Surprise, surprise: Tony doesn’t get the fellowship, and instead, flees his childhood home early in the morning to catch a bus and a ferry to Provincetown.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

“With malice towards none, I say all the talk of free bus has an impact, it does have an impact,“ Lieber said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Three years ago, he arrived in Colombia by bus, fleeing the crisis in neighboring Venezuela.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

In front of the door stood a green city bus with soldiers occupying the rear seats.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

"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 was uncomfortable for two hours on the bus. That stuff is sticky, smelly and disgusting.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2023

“There’s a stigma attached to riding the bus. Going to microtransit and nontraditional vehicles removed that stigma.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023

"A bus came and it was full of men. They squeezed us onto the bus. It was lockdown, Covid's peak, and they put us all together."

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2023

“A lady on the bus. And there was another lady named Sparkle who gave us donuts.”

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

There were about 20 times more EV trucks and buses on the road than hydrogen ones at the end of last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

They ride campus buses without paying a fare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

From my perch I see thousands of revelers pour from the tram, cars that magically found a parking spot, bikes, and buses.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

"We're going back to Stormont to make sure that we get the funding for the night buses that are currently in to make sure we have those for next year as well."

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Awaking to the sound of school buses, he ran back to Room 5 just in time as his former friend was hanging up his parka.

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

“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

Most of the Afghan nationals were brought to the centers in rickety busses, some of them handcuffed.

From Reuters ● Nov. 1, 2023

No busses to get on or traveling to do.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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

To see a doctor, she was bused nearly three hours each way to a medical center in Monroe, La.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

The Drones and their guests were bused in two gaily colored buses.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

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

From Salon ● May 3, 2026

Integration through busing “didn’t fail,” Docter said later.

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

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

“I loaded trucks, parked cars at the Hilton garage, bussed tables, waited tables, tended bar. I worked as background and a stand-in in 35 films before I ever spoke.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 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

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

From Salon ● May 18, 2024

In another Texan border city, Laredo, the manager of a community centre described to the BBC how border agents were bussing migrants and asylum centres because they were "overwhelmed".

From BBC ● Feb. 29, 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