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
1 American
[buhs]
/ bʌs /
noun
-
buses,
plural
-
busses
plural
-
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.
verb (used with object)
bused,
bussed,
busing,
bussing
-
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,
bussed,
busing,
bussing
idioms
bus
2
American
[buhs]
/ bʌs /
verb (used with or without object)
bused,
bussed,
busing,
bussing
bus.
3
American
abbreviation
bus
British
/ bʌs /
noun
-
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
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informal a car or aircraft, esp one that is old and shaky
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electronics computing short for busbar
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the part of a MIRV missile payload containing the re-entry vehicles and guidance and thrust devices
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astronautics a platform in a space vehicle used for various experiments and processes
-
to miss an opportunity; be too late
verb
-
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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
She is involved in a bus accident that results in a fatality and, with the crusading passion that so many people felt after 9/11, decides to get involved as a witness and truth-teller.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Our favorite games unfolded beneath the dining table; at times, we transformed it into a bus, traveling to unfamiliar places, as we took turns playing different roles: the driver, the passenger, and the ticket officer.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Reform county councillor George Madgwick said about 30 to 40 people gathered outside the Marriott Hotel in Cosham on Tuesday evening, amid false rumours that a group of migrants had arrived by bus.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
I hop into my seat at the front of the bus as he starts yelling about the last two hours of our trek and to let our parents know now so they can coordinate pickups.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"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
“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
“Come on,” she says, looking at her watch, “we need to get you on the next bus. Like, now.”
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
But for the signs in Albanian, we could have been on the Amalfi Coast, or the Côte d’Azur, except that it has not yet been overrun with bachelorettes and party buses.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Not until the 1890s would technological advances make it practical to operate streetcars with electric motors and buses with gasoline-powered engines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
One raid took place at a bar in which ICE rolled up with a fleet of rented buses at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026
He quickly decided to evacuate, telling the children to run to higher ground and ordering buses full of students to turn around to flee the area.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Ralph, whose weekend had been so long and so lonely, felt such a surge of joy and relief at the sound of school buses that he skittered back to Room 5 in a forgiving mood.
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
Local media pictures showed long queues of busses heading to the Torkham crossing where thousands of people waited for clearance and would likely spend night in open as the crossing closes at 9pm.
From Reuters ● Nov. 1, 2023
He said: "Four busses for hundreds of people coming to an airport? Four busses? We're all standing here and nobody can go anywhere."
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 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
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
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
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
French authorities bused homeless people out of Paris before the 2024 Games, and in 1984, the Los Angeles Police Department used mounted horse patrols to scatter homeless people into less visible areas of downtown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
And the white kids from the Flats, dishonor students, got bused in from the other direction.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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
Docter said later that busing “should have been introduced on a voluntary basis to dispel fears among the majority population and resist white flight.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
Instead, the city is busing students to schools that have extra space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2025
A few years ago, they started busing students in from all over the city.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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
At the school where the Lions are based in the Melbourne suburbs, rugby posts had to be bussed in so the tourists could train.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 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
My parents were about to exchange their brief Christmas kiss, the only time they bussed in front of us, when Mother remembered the presence of the minister and ducked her head in embarrassment.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
And there's a guy bussing the table, like a late 30s guy.
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
As a young man, he studied molecular biology at Cal State Northridge, and later did odd jobs from construction to bussing tables.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2023
Miami plans to enhance security, bussing players into the stadium for games, Mas said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 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.
