buddy
noun
comrade or chum (often used as a term of address).
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buddy
1 American
[buhd-ee]
/ ˈbʌd i /
verb (used without object)
-
buddies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
buddied,
past participle, past
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buddying
present participle
verb phrase
-
buddy up to to become friendly with or curry the favor of.
He was buddying up to the political bosses.
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buddy up
-
to become friendly; be on friendly or intimate terms.
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to work closely together.
to buddy up with a student from another high school.
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Buddy
2
American
[buhd-ee]
/ ˈbʌd i /
noun
buddy
British
/ ˈbʌdɪ /
noun
-
Also called (as a term of address): bud. an informal word for friend
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a volunteer who visits and gives help and support to a person suffering from AIDS
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a volunteer who gives help and support to a person who has become disabled but is returning to work
verb
Usage
What does buddy mean? Buddy is most commonly used as an informal word for a friend. Buddy is often used as a form of address (as in Hey, buddy, I haven’t seen you in a while!) or a term of endearment (an affectionate way of referring to someone). It is sometimes shortened to bud. Buddy is primarily used in the United States. Example: We don’t get together as much as we used to, but whenever I hang out with my buddies from college it’s still like old times.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
buddysimple
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buddiessimple
-
have buddiedperfect
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has buddiedperfect
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am buddyingprogressive
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are buddyingprogressive
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is buddyingprogressive
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have been buddyingperfect progressive
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has been buddyingperfect progressive
Past
-
buddiedsimple
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had buddiedperfect
-
was buddyingprogressive
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were buddyingprogressive
-
had been buddyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of buddy
1840–50, perhaps reduced form of brother
Explanation
A buddy is a good friend. Your best buddy in elementary school may still be a good buddy when you graduate from high school. If you love to hang out with a certain friend, she's your buddy. You could also call her your pal or your chum. Sometimes when kids are new in school, a teacher will ask another student to be their buddy — to help them feel comfortable and welcome. The word first appeared in the mid-19th century in the US, either as slang for brother or from the British butty, or "companion."
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:
When Owen Wilson signed on to do a buddy action thriller with muscular "Reacher" star Alan Ritchson, he understood very quickly there would have to be a strict division of labor on set.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Wasabi has always been my best buddy when trying some Wagyu,” Sakai says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Although Kushner chose not to officially rejoin his father-in-law’s second administration, he is serving, along with Trump’s real estate buddy Steve Witkoff, as its special diplomatic envoy.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
But he added there was an "endless" list of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe he would love to buddy up with next.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Spent the afternoon riding bikes with my buddy Jamal,” he said.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Where Forte’s wimpy Kevin is a send-up of human fragility, Cena’s Buddy has the shatterproof ego of the rooster Foghorn Leghorn, who also happens to be Acme’s CEO.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Tencent said it’s making “substantial progress” toward being AI-empowered, through its Hy3 LLM, WorkBuddy AI office productivity service and Core Buddy AI coding tool.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
By contrast, Murrill’s more moderate Republican predecessor, Buddy Caldwell, who served as attorney general from 2008 to 2015, opposed just 33% of all claims.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
His parents didn’t agree, so he struggled with various cobbled-together instruments and learned songs by Buddy Holly and other rock pioneers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
We also help out on Reading Buddy Nights, when little kids come to the library to read stories with middle schoolers like us.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
“No different than you and your buddies going to play golf, right?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
I opened the dating app when I landed at O’Hare and swiped on a tall bald guy from Dallas, who was in Chicago for the weekend with his college buddies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Chinese users of AI-powered companion bots have bid heart-rending farewells to their virtual buddies as national regulations took effect Wednesday aimed at curbing the risk of emotional dependency.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
I guess being buddies at swanky Hamptons parties in the ’90s only goes so far.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
That I was suddenly going to be best buddies with my ninety-odd- year-old grandmother?
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
While his daughter and her friend were “bopping away” to every song, Grant said, he buddied up with Swift’s boyfriend, NFL tight end Travis Kelce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
A 12-year-old girl who has just recovered from leukaemia has been buddied with a West End star through Momentum Children's Charity.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2022
By then he had buddied up with Chilean Yonathan Jesús Fernández and Mexican Germán Madrozo, whose prospects were as farcically bad as his were.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 1, 2019
He greeted Smith whenever he got off the team bus; he walked on the beach with him; he buddied up to other players.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 27, 2017
Finally, in 1627, his apprenticeships done, Rembrandt buddied up with a fellow Lastman student, Jan Lievens, to share a studio, and there began to sort out a mature style.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2016
The attorneys were buddying up to the client, like “I could do this for you, I’m going to do that for you, you can call me 24/7, I’m always available, I have your back.”
From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2019
He has veered between buddying up to China’s President Xi Jinping and attacking Beijing over trade.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2018
Now we have NK and China buddying up,especially at a crucial time following the trade issues.
From New York Times ● Mar. 27, 2018
But when his scar starts to sting again, he assumes the darkness that he feels and his disturbing dreams must be connected to the former Death Eater’s son who is buddying up to his son.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 5, 2016
Vonetta, who was buddying up to one of the three sisters, could get her own toast.
From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
