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
b
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)
see also:
bused also bussed; busing also bussing
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
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
business
variants
or less commonly bussing
1
: the act of transporting by bus
2
: the transporting of children to a school outside their residential area as a means of achieving racial balance in that school
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.
Cite this Entry
“Bus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bus. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.
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