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.

RELATED WORDS

integrate

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

bus

[ buhs ]

/ bʌs /

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

to work or act as a busboy or busgirl: She bused for her meals during her student days.

Origin of bus

First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from busboy

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

Examples from the Web for buses

Buses filled with cops from the 84th Precinct, where Liu had worked.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They are played on buses, in dance halls, and on the streets.
A Quorum For Change: The Fight For Global LGBT Equality|Justin Jones|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The buses were to be used to transport union members to the protests in Mexico City.
Mexican Protesters Look to Start a New Revolution|Jason McGahan|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I saw it on billboards and on buses for a long time, and it was always like a knife to the heart.
How Cristin Milioti Met Sitcom Stardom|Jason Lynch|October 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But the students chanced it, piling into three buses for the dangerous journey back home.
Abducted, Tortured, Indoctrinated: The Tale of a Teen Who Escaped ISIS|Yusuf Sayman|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Streams of motor-cars, taxis, and buses hurried along Piccadilly, the streets were busy with people coming and going.
To Love|Margaret Peterson
I think it's stunning to stand there and watch the buses and taxis streaming along as though they'd never stop.
The Trembling of a Leaf|William Somerset Maugham
But taxi-cabs and buses were compelled to plunge into the water hub-high.
Paris Vistas|Helen Davenport Gibbons
The next three buses were fitted with Scarff mountings, which were as satisfactory as the Jabberwocks were unsatisfactory.
Cavalry of the Clouds|Alan Bott
I wish the authorities would pass a law prohibiting all these buses and trippers and outsiders.
Beginners Luck|Emily Hahn

British Dictionary definitions for buses

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 buses

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.

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.

bus

noun, plural bus·es, bus·ses.

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

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

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of bus

bus

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

Origin of bus

Examples from the Web for buses

bus

noun plural buses or busses

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

Word Origin for bus

bus

bus