a low plant with many branches that arise from or near the ground.
a small cluster of shrubs appearing as a single plant.
something resembling or suggesting this, as a thick, shaggy head of hair.
Also called bush lot. Canadian. a small, wooded lot, especially a farm lot with trees left standing to provide firewood, fence posts, etc.
the tail of a fox; brush.
Geography. a stretch of uncultivated land covered with mixed plant growth, bushy vegetation, trees, etc.
a large uncleared area thickly covered with mixed plant growth, trees, etc., as a jungle.
a large, sparsely populated area most of which is uncleared, as areas of Australia and Alaska.
a tree branch hung as a sign before a tavern or vintner's shop.
any tavern sign.
Slang: Vulgar. pubic hair.
Archaic. a wineshop.
beat the bushes, to scout or search for persons or things far and wide.
I've been beating the bushes for a skilled, honest, inexpensive renovator.
beat around / about the bush, to avoid coming to the point; delay in approaching a subject directly.
Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want.
go bush,
to flee or escape into the bush.
Slang. to become wild.
a lining of metal or the like set into an orifice to guard against wearing by friction, erosion, etc.
Barbara Barbara Pierce, 1925–2018, U.S. First Lady 1989–93 (wife of George H. W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush).
George (Herbert Walker), 1924–2018, U.S. politician: vice president 1981–89; 41st president of the United States 1989–93.
George W(alker), born 1946, U.S. businessman and politician: governor of Texas 1994–2001; 43rd president of the United States 2001–09 (son of George H. W. Bush).
Laura Laura Lane Welch, born 1946, U.S. First Lady 2001–09 (wife of George W. Bush).
Vannevar 1890–1974, U.S. electrical engineer: education and research administrator.
a dense woody plant, smaller than a tree, with many branches arising from the lower part of the stem; shrub
a dense cluster of such shrubs; thicket
something resembling a bush, esp in density
a bush of hair
an uncultivated or sparsely settled area, esp in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada: usually covered with trees or shrubs, varying from open shrubby country to dense rainforest
( as modifier )
bush flies
Also called: bush lot. woodlot. an area of land on a farm on which timber is grown and cut
a forested area; woodland
informal the countryside, as opposed to the city
out in the bush
a fox's tail; brush
obsolete
a bunch of ivy hung as a vintner's sign in front of a tavern
any tavern sign
to avoid the point at issue; prevaricate
informal rough-and-ready
informal ignorant or stupid, esp as considered typical of unwesternized rustic life
informal unprofessional, unpolished, or second-rate
informal
to abandon city amenities and live rough
to run wild
(intr) to grow thick and bushy
(tr) to cover, decorate, support, etc, with bushes
(tr) to camp out in the bush
George . born 1924, US Republican politician; vice president of the US (1981–89): 41st president of the US (1989–93)
his son, George W ( alker ). born 1946, US Republican politician; 43rd president of the US (2001–09)
First recorded before 1000; Middle English busshe, Old English busc (in placenames); cognate with Dutch bos “wood,” German Busch “bush,” Medieval Latin boscus “wood” (compare French bois, Italian bosco, Portuguese, Spanish bosque ), Old Norse buskr “bush”
First recorded in 1560–70; from Middle Dutch bussche; see also box 1
A bush is a dense, woody-stemmed plant that grows much shorter and wider than a tree. You might plant a rose bush under your bedroom window. Your yard might be full of bushes of all sorts, from spiky-leafed holly to sweet-smelling gardenia — and you could also call them shrubs. There is also the bush that means "the wilderness" or "the wild country," which is used most often to talk about the Australian outback. This sense of "the middle of nowhere" led to the phrase "bush league," or "unprofessional."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Five days after Samba’s escape, around dawn, a team of 20 zookeepers descended on a bush in the local woods, following a sighting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"We will be testing a few methods that might get around these problems and allow us to rear significant numbers of the bush cricket for release into the wild," he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Mostly nationals of Malawi and Mozambique, many told AFP they had fled their homes at the weekend and spent nights in the mountains and bush, before making their way to the small-town community centres.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
In the 1980s, officials forced them into villages with permanent, iron-roofed houses, but the Hadzabe fled back to the bush after only a few days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
My first thought was that the yellow ring had gotten tangled in a bush, and while the monkeys were flouncing and dragging the net over the ground, the net had opened.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Patrick Moore, a casual worker at Legacy, had been told by Bush "not to bring anyone back to Legacy", Paxton said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Jasmine Beverley, whose son Sunny was stillborn in May 2022, said Bush appeared "lovely" and presented himself as "very respectful".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
He said his mother Muriel Winning died from cancer in July 2023 and he was given ashes by Bush, which he placed on his windowsill.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Bush, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, was trusted by bereaved families but mistreated them on an "almost industrial scale", Paxton said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Once again the carts carried the sick to Bush Hill, and the white flag of victory had to be hauled down.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
"So we came out in the night hours, we went to the bush. There's a mountain up there, we slept there," said the 31-year-old, his eyes bloodshot.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
“You can have such profound rage at the city and then be gobstopped at a giant feral bush of bougainvillea. And there’s someone sleeping underneath that bush. It’s all of it at once.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
"This is winged euonymus, otherwise known as burning bush. And here is Chinese silver grass. It's a popular ornamental, but the seeds are dispersed by the wind," he said.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2023
"I’m not going to beat around the bush. Any time a pitcher is in love with his fastball. If he wants to play fire with fire. I love that game."
From Fox News ● Sep. 26, 2021
Together they went into Mr. Benedict’s office, where Mr. Benedict obediently sat at his desk and said, “Sticky, I won’t beat around the bush. Your parents are here.”
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
