bus

[ buhs ]

/ bʌs /

noun, plural bus·es, bus·ses.

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

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.

Electricity. Also called bus bar, bus·bar

[buhs-bahr] /ˈbʌsˌbɑr/. 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.

verb (used with object), bused or bussed, bus·ing or bus·sing.

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.

verb (used without object), bused or bussed, bus·ing or bus·sing.

to travel on or by means of a bus: We bused to New York on a theater trip.

Nearby words

Idioms

throw under the bus. throw(def 57).

Origin of bus

1825–35; short for omnibus; (def 6) short for omnibus bar

Can be confusedbussed bust

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for busbar

Everything's burned out or shorted or fused together; I saw one busbar eight inches across melted clean in two.
Omnilingual|H. Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for busbar (1 of 2)

busbar

/ (ˈbʌzˌbɑː) /

noun

an electrical conductor, maintained at a specific voltage and capable of carrying a high current, usually used to make a common connection between several circuits in a system

a group of such electrical conductors at a low voltage, used for carrying data in binary form between the various parts of a computer or its peripherals

Sometimes shortened to: bus

British Dictionary definitions for busbar (2 of 2)

bus

/ (bʌs) /

noun plural buses or busses

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

short for trolleybus

(modifier) of or relating to a bus or busesa 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

miss the bus to miss an opportunity; be too late

verb buses, busing, bused, busses, bussing or bussed

to travel or transport by bus

mainly US and Canadian to transport (children) by bus from one area to a school in another in order to create racially integrated classes

Word Origin for bus

C19: short for omnibus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for busbar (1 of 2)

bus

1832, abbreviation of omnibus (q.v.). The modern English noun is nothing but a Latin dative plural ending. To miss the bus, in the figurative sense of "lose an opportunity," is from 1901, Australian English (OED has a figurative miss the omnibus from 1886). Busman's holiday "leisure time spent doing what one does for a living" (1893) is probably a reference to London bus drivers riding the buses on their days off.

Word Origin and History for busbar (1 of 2)

bus

1838, "to travel by omnibus," from bus (n.). Transitive meaning "transport students to integrate schools" is from 1961, American English. Meaning "clear tables in a restaurant" is first attested 1913, probably from the four-wheeled cart used to carry dishes. Related: Bused; busing.