bull

1 of 7

noun (1)

ˈbu̇l How to pronounce bull (audio)
ˈbəl
1
a
: a male bovine
especially : an adult uncastrated male domestic bovine
b
: a usually adult male of various large animals (such as elephants, whales, or seals)
2
: one who buys securities or commodities in expectation of a price rise or who acts to effect such a rise compare bear
3
: one that resembles a bull (as in brawny physique)
4
5
6
capitalized : taurus

bull

2 of 7

adjective

1
a
: of or relating to a bull
b
: male
a bull calf
c
: suggestive of a bull
2
: large of its kind
a bull lathe

bull

3 of 7

verb (1)

bulled; bulling; bulls

intransitive verb

: to advance forcefully

transitive verb

1
: to act on with violence
2
: force
bulled his way through the crowd

bull

4 of 7

noun (2)

1
: a solemn papal letter sealed with a bulla or with a red-ink imprint of the device on the bulla
2

bull

5 of 7

verb (2)

bulled; bulling; bulls

transitive verb

slang : to fool especially by fast boastful talk

intransitive verb

slang : to engage in idle and boastful talk

bull

6 of 7

noun (3)

1
: a grotesque blunder in language
2
slang : empty boastful talk
3

bull

7 of 7

abbreviation

Examples of bull in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The metallic door clangs open and the bull charges. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 In today’s bull cycle, this leaves Nvidia, Meta and Amazon as the three remaining generals making new highs with the markets. Beth Kindig, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Earlier this month, two poachers pled guilty to killing a bull moose in an Alaskan National Park back in September of 2021. Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 29 Feb. 2024 The cowboy is riding a horse, lasso in hand, pursuing a wild bull. Dara Kerr, NPR, 28 Feb. 2024 For the accompanying video, the two share various sweet moments including hoping on the back of a mechanical bull. Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024 So as part of his papal bull, Pope Gregory XIII also declared that every 400th year would once again acquire a leap day. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 Further options include an engine-bay snorkel, a front bull bar, a winch, and the addition of rear jump seats. Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2024 The pit bulls will be impounded and examined at a nearby animal care center, the Times reported. Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 17 Feb. 2024
Adjective
By the next day’s morning, Cramer appeared to reverse that reversal in a comment on a post by Bitcoin ultra-bull Anthony Pompliano. Robert Hackett, Fortune, 24 June 2021 Brent Thill of Jefferies is the only non-bull on MicroStrategy, rating the stock hold with a $180 price target. Subrat Patnaik, Bloomberg.com, 23 June 2022 As a Bitcoin super-bull, Beard naturally sees his favorite far outperforming the S&P 500 and NASDAQ in the years ahead. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2022
Verb
Still, Harris — whose 284 touches are a career low — certainly looked fresh while bulling his way to 126 yards against Baltimore to push him over 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight season. Will Graves, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2024 While huge antlers can be a sign of dominance and herd stature, a buck or bull with a nasty attitude, physical strength, and fighting ability can often trump a rival with more impressive headgear. Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 10 Jan. 2024 That was just enough time for the Eagles, who took 23 plays to go 80 yards, with Turner bulling from 4 yards out with 5 seconds to play for a 28-21 halftime lead. John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023 Wall Street bulls Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, meanwhile, have lowered their year-end price targets for the S&P 500 index. Chloe Taylor, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2023 Archer then threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Grant Karnes, who bulled his way past two Cyclone defenders to score, and scored on a 21-yard run to make it 42-14 at halftime. Nwa Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 22 Oct. 2023 Jake Bova scored twice for Avon Lake, bulling his way into the end zone from 8 yards out and 3 yards out. Joe Magill, cleveland, 15 Sep. 2023 Hughley, who finished with 76 yards rushing on 15 carries, continued to spark the Bulldogs in the third quarter with some strong runs, including bulling his way into the end zone for a 1-yard TD to cut the Thompson lead to 23-13 with 2:38 to go in the third quarter. al, 25 Aug. 2023 Then came a husband about 60, who bulled his way across while his wife waited on the safe side. Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bull.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English bule, from Old English bula; akin to Old Norse boli bull

Noun (2)

Middle English bulle, from Medieval Latin bulla, from Latin, bubble, amulet

Noun (3)

perhaps from obsolete bull to mock

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1884, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1609, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (3)

1640, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bull was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bull

Cite this Entry

“Bull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bull. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bull

noun
ˈbu̇l
1
a
: an adult male bovine animal
b
: an adult male of some other large animals (as an elephant, a moose, or a whale)
2
: a person who buys stocks or bonds in the expectation that the price will go up compare bear sense 3
3
slang : police officer
bull adjective
bullish
-ish
adjective

Biographical Definition

Bull

biographical name

Ole ˈō-lə How to pronounce Bull (audio) Bornemann 1810–1880 Norwegian violinist

More from Merriam-Webster on bull

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!