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⇱ bud - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

bud

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈbʌd/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/bʌd/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(bud)

Inflections of 'bud' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
buds
v 3rd person singular
budding
v pres p
budded
v past
budded
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
bud1 /bʌd/USA pronunciation   n., v., bud•ded, bud•ding. 
n. 
  1. Botany any of the small parts on the end of a plant stem, from which leaves or flowers develop:[countable]The plants were showing a few buds by late April.
  2. a state of putting forth buds:[uncountable]roses in bud.

v. [no object]
  1. Botanyto produce buds:The plants began to bud in early April.
  2. to begin to develop:His genius began to bud at an early age.
Idioms
  1. Idioms in the bud, not developed but showing promise: a playwright in the bud.
  2. Idioms nip in the bud, [nip + object + in the + ~] to stop (something) in the earliest stages: to nip a mutiny in the bud.


bud2 /bʌd/USA pronunciation   n. (used as a term of address to a man or boy)
  1. buddy;
    friend:"Hey bud, can you help me out, please,'' he called.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
bud1  (bud),USA pronunciation n., v., bud•ded, bud•ding. 
n. 
  1. Botany
    • a small axillary or terminal protuberance on a plant, containing rudimentary foliage (leaf bud,) the rudimentary inflorescence (flower bud,) or both (mixed bud). 
    • an undeveloped or rudimentary stem or branch of a plant.
  2. Zoology(in certain animals of low organization) a prominence that develops into a new individual, sometimes permanently attached to the parent and sometimes becoming detached;
    gemma.
  3. Fungi[Mycol.]a small, rounded outgrowth produced from a fungus spore or cell by a process of asexual reproduction, eventually separating from the parent cell as a new individual: commonly produced by yeast and a few other fungi.
  4. Anatomyany small rounded part.
  5. an immature or undeveloped person or thing.
  6. Idioms in the bud, in an immature or undeveloped state:a Shakespeare in the bud.Also, in bud. 
  7. Idioms nip in the bud, to stop (something) in the beginning of its development:The rebellion was nipped in the bud.

v.i. 
  1. Botanyto put forth or produce buds.
  2. to begin to develop.
  3. to be in an early stage of development.

v.t. 
  1. Botanyto cause to bud.
  2. Botany[Hort.]to graft by inserting a single bud into the stock.
  • 1350–1400; Middle English budde bud, spray, pod; akin to German Hagebutte hip, Old Norse budda purse, dialect, dialectal Swedish bodd head, Dutch buidel bag, purse, Middle Low German buddich swollen
bud′der, n. 
bud′less, adj. 
bud′like′, adj. 

bud2  (bud),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. brother;
    buddy (used in informal address, as to one's brother or to a man or boy whose name is not known to the speaker).
  • back formation from buddy 1850–55, American.

Bud  (bud),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a male given name.
Also, Budd. 
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
bud /bʌd/ n
  1. a swelling on a plant stem consisting of overlapping immature leaves or petals
    • a partially opened flower
    • (in combination): rosebud
  3. any small budlike outgrowth: taste buds
  4. something small or immature
  5. an asexually produced outgrowth in simple organisms, such as yeasts, and the hydra that develops into a new individual
  6. nip in the bud ⇒ to put an end to (an idea, movement, etc) in its initial stages
 vb (buds, budding, budded)
  1. (intransitive) (of plants and some animals) to produce buds
  2. (intransitive) to begin to develop or grow
  3. (transitive) to graft (a bud) from one plant onto another, usually by insertion under the bark
Etymology: 14th Century budde, of Germanic origin; compare Icelandic budda purse, Dutch buidel
bud /bʌd/ n
  1. informal chiefly US
'bud' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: the [flowers, trees] are budding, the [flowers] are [beginning, starting] to bud, his [talent is, abilities are] budding, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "bud" in the title:

After Bud's mother died, he has been...
and he never quite slipped from her, and she felt the soft bud ……and she lay there crying
brought columbines and campions, and new-mown hay, and <oak-tufts and honeysuckle in small bud>
bud
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Bud Lights or Buds Light?
bud of flesh
bud of light
bud of light swells
But (bud) friend
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Everywhere the <bud-knots> and the leap of life
Grab a Bud
Great Gawd Bud
Is Buddy a nickname for Bud?
nip (phrase) in the bud
nip his break forward in the bud
nip in the bud
Nip it in the bud
Nip the evil in the bud
nipped in the bud - wrong register
Paradise by the Dash(Bud) Lite
pronunciation: bud (AmE) vs bird (BrE)
Ranger that bud
sprout/bud/shoot
the bud [butt] of a joke
the dim, glad moan of spring, moving into bud
umpteenth cotton-bud brain surgery
with a gattle in her bud to get a little wild
more...

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