bus

1 of 3

noun

plural buses also busses
often attributive
1
a
: a large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers usually along a fixed route according to a schedule
took the bus to work
double-decker buses
waiting at the bus stop
2
: a small hand truck
3
a
electrical engineering : bus bar
b
computers : a set of parallel conductors (see conductor sense d(1)) in a computer system that forms a main transmission path
4
: a spacecraft or missile that carries one or more detachable devices (such as warheads)

bus

2 of 3

verb

bused also bussed; busing also bussing

intransitive verb

1
: to travel by a large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers usually along a fixed route according to a schedule : to travel by bus
2
: to work as a busboy

transitive verb

1
: to transport by bus
busing kids to school
Students were bused in for the game.
2
a
: clear sense 4d
bus dishes
b
: to remove dirty dishes from
bus tables

bus

3 of 3

abbreviation

business
Phrases
throw (someone) under the bus
informal
: to criticize, blame, or punish (someone in a vulnerable position) especially in order to avoid blame or gain an advantage
… we will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation.Donna Shalala
But he went out of his way to make clear that this one wasn't really on him. The problem lay with underlings, whom he quickly threw under the bus.Rem Rieder

Did you know?

The History of Bus

In 1661, mathematician Blaise Pascal conceived the world’s first bus service, proposing that a number of coaches should “circulate along predetermined routes in Paris at regular intervals regardless of the number of people,” and pick up passengers for a small fixed fare. The word bus is short for omnibus, which means “for everyone.” Bus was first used in this sense in the 1830s, its "everyone" meaning referencing the fact that anyone could join the coach along its route, unlike with stagecoaches, which had to be pre-booked.

Examples of bus in a Sentence

Noun She boarded a bus in Nashville. Are you traveling by train or by bus? Verb He buses tables at the local diner.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The elusive Salley was eventually found in Miami, having traveled from New Orleans after taking a bus from New York. Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 23 Mar. 2024 Fifty-five people -- including 44 students and 11 adults -- were on the bus in total, according to the school district. Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2024 One child on the bus and an adult passenger in a vehicle behind the bus died. Jamiel Lynch, CNN, 22 Mar. 2024 There were 44 students and 11 adults on the bus, the school district said. Louis Casiano, Fox News, 22 Mar. 2024 Many tourists take the bus in the early morning from Cancún and back again that same evening — about six hours round-trip. Matthew Pillsbury Nicholas Casey, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024 Brown caught the first bus for San Francisco the day after graduating from Mineola Colored High School in 1951. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024 One man got on the bus through the front door; the other used the back door. Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 19 Mar. 2024 What seems to work best is a carrot-and-stick approach—creating positive reasons to take a bus or to cycle rather than just making driving harder. Andrew Kersley, WIRED, 19 Mar. 2024
Verb
The district buses about 44,000 students of color and most are missing an average of 14 minutes of instruction each day. Krista Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 22 Mar. 2024 The 104 passengers and crew members, traveling from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, deplaned the Boeing 737-800 at DFW and were bused to a terminal after the plane experienced a brake malfunction Feb. 10, according to the NTSB. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Mar. 2024 At the bill’s first reading two weeks ago, Mr. Fatty bused in a group of young women to chant pro-cutting slogans outside Parliament. Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Only 53 students would receive busing on one route. Sue Kiesewetter, The Enquirer, 17 Mar. 2024 No one was injured, and passengers left the 737 Max on a set of mobile stairs before being bused to the terminal, the airline said. Mary Schlangenstein, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 Notably, the Texas state government has boasted about busing tens of thousands of migrants to Northern cities in the past two years. Amy Simonson, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024 Since Abbott began his busing scheme, Denver has received more migrants per capita than any other city, exacerbating some of the issues that Johnston had vowed to solve. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024 Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has put a 60-day cap on how long people can stay in temporary shelters as officials struggle to keep up with the demand for housing and social services, amid an influx of migrants from the southern border as part of a busing campaign by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 12 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bus.' 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 and Verb

short for omnibus

First Known Use

Noun

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1909, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bus was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near bus

Cite this Entry

“Bus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bus. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bus

1 of 2 noun
plural buses also busses
1
: a large motor vehicle for carrying passengers
2
: a conductor or group of conductors for collecting electric currents and sending them to outgoing wires

bus

2 of 2 verb
bused also bussed; busing also bussing
: to travel or transport by bus

More from Merriam-Webster on bus

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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