bull

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noun (1)

ˈbu̇l 

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

: bulldog

5

slang : police officer, detective

6

capitalized : taurus

bull

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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

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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

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noun (2)

1

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

2

: edict, decree

bull

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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

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noun (3)

1

: a grotesque blunder in language

2

slang : empty boastful talk

3

slang : nonsense sense 2

bull

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abbreviation

bulletin

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• policeman
• cop
• officer
• constable [chiefly British]
• sheriff
• copper

Verb (1)

• push
• squeeze
• muscle
• bore

Noun (2)

• edict
• decree
• ruling
• directive
• decision
• proclamation

Verb (2)

• brag
• boast
• blow
• crow
• display

Noun (3)

• rhetoric
• brag
• hot air
• rhodomontade
• rodomontade
• gas
• chatter
• bombast
• magniloquence
• rant
• gasconade

Examples of bull in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the town's drug dealers and bulls were well acquainted with one another

Verb (1)

the beleaguered governor bulled through the crowd of reporters without answering a single question

Noun (2)

the head office issued a bull banning the use of alcohol at all on-site social functions

Verb (2)

no one bought all his bulling about how he had beaten the stock market

Noun (3)

an interview filled with the usual bull about how seriously she takes the art of acting

a guy who's always trying to sell some sucker a line of bull

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Children will decorate their own cardboard bull and parade them around Scoville Park at 800 Lake St. —Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 14 July 2025

Novoa’s introduction to bull riding came at an early age. —Alex Lowe, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2025

Verb

Shares in Tesla gained 3.5% on the back of the surprise, since most Tesla bulls that closely follow the stock had expected closer to 370,000 for the quarter. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 3 July 2025

Some of the recurring elements at this year’s Cannes Film Festival were coincidences, like the many scenes in which women angrily masturbated, or children bulled one of their own, or a house became a portal into generations of family history. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 27 May 2025

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

Phrases Containing bull

• a bull in a china shop
• American pit bull terrier
• a red rag to a bull
• bull dyke
• bull fiddle
• bull kelp
• bull market
• bull neck
• bull pen
• bull rush
• bull session
• bull's-eye
• bull's-eye window
• bull shark
• bull snake
• bull terrier
• bull thistle
• bull tongue
• cock-and-bull story
• hit the bull's-eye
• Irish bull
• pit bull
• pit bull terrier
• shoot the bull
• Staffordshire bull terrier
• take the bull by the horns

Rhymes for bull

• full
• pull
• wool
• brimful
• handful
• mouthful
• roomful
• spoonful

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

ˈbu̇l 

Ole ˈō-lə  Bornemann 1810–1880 Norwegian violinist