Meaning & use
bud
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A small swelling on a plant that will open into a leaf or flower.
Grammar: A countable noun: a bud, many buds.
Patterns
- in bud
- a bud on something
Tiny buds appeared on the branches in March.
The rose was still in bud.
Frost damaged the flower buds.
verbintransitive
To produce buds or begin to grow.
Grammar: No object: the trees are budding.
Patterns
- start to bud
The apple trees bud early in spring.
The plant began to bud after a week.
Her talent started to bud at school.
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A friend, used especially when talking to a man.
Grammar: Used as an informal form of address: hey, bud.
Hey bud, how's it going?
He's been my bud since school.
Thanks, bud, I owe you one.
nouncountablebiology
A small part of an organ shaped like a bud, such as a taste bud.
Grammar: Often in the compound taste bud.
Patterns
- taste bud
Spicy food excites your taste buds.
Taste buds sit on the tongue.
The lemon tickled his taste buds.
Word forms
| plural | buds |
|---|---|
| third person singular | buds |
| past tense | budded |
| past participle | budded |
| -ing form | budding |
Common combinations
- nip in the bud
- The teacher nipped the problem in the bud.
- flower bud
- A flower bud opens in the sun.
- taste bud
- The soup delighted my taste buds.
- in bud
- The cherry trees were in bud.
- budding artist
- She is a budding artist.
- leaf bud
- A leaf bud formed on the twig.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sprout
- Sprout is a new shoot from a seed or stem, while a bud is a swelling that has not yet opened.
- shoot
- Shoot is a young stem or branch, and a bud is only the beginning of one.
- buddy
- Buddy is a longer, friendlier form of bud for a friend.
- mate
- Mate is the British equivalent of bud for a friend.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: bud or bad?
bud vs bad
Bad is the opposite of good, and has a different vowel from bud.
Practice
What does 'nip it in the bud' mean?
Choose one answer.
The phrase means to stop something at its start before it grows. Waiting would not stop it.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bud”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.