as in poor
of low quality
that was bum advice that you got from that website
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in cheeks
the part of the body upon which someone sits
I decided to get off my bum and get some exercise
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in hobo
an idle worthless person
if you expect an allowance, you have to do some chores and stop being such a bum
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in beggar
a homeless wanderer who may beg or steal for a living
I feel sorry for bums and occasionally give them money
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to lazy
to spend time doing nothing
spent most of the summer just bumming around the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bum
Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
Trying to warm up your bum from the cold was said to produce heavier periods.
—Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Rittenhouse admits to initially being bummed out to not be the murderer, only to quickly come around to preferring this outcome.
—Derek Lawrence, HollywoodReporter, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bum
Noun
Dress in layers like a good ski bum and enjoy the sun.
—Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
Trying to warm up your bum from the cold was said to produce heavier periods.
—Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
Critical thinking really bums them out.
—Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 13 Mar. 2026
Rittenhouse admits to initially being bummed out to not be the murderer, only to quickly come around to preferring this outcome.
—Derek Lawrence, HollywoodReporter, 12 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bum
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bum
Adjective
-
These closures reflect various factors, including poor investment returns, a lack of government support for refinery upgrades and higher carbon and energy costs.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
15 Apr. 2026
-
After McCandless and her council colleagues approved the sweeping tax breaks, King consistently spoke on how its planning process exemplified poor communication from the city, saying that current leaders should have advocated for a better deal for Independence.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Hungarians living near the southern frontier, where Orbán made a show of building a border fence during the refugee crisis, are travelling to Croatia to buy cheap groceries.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Ukraine has developed expertise to destroy them through electronic jamming as well as using small, cheap interceptor drones to blow up the Shahed drones.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jonathan is standing over Coach, who is lounging in a hammock like a bruised banana that is too good to touch the counter.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2026
-
As soon as it was delivered (with matching ottoman), our team was fighting each other off for a chance to lounge in the Bun chair.—
Kate McGregor,
Architectural Digest,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
At that point, something terrible, something on the scale of the Maidan protests in Ukraine in 2014, is not inconceivable.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Between some horrendous screw-ups, terrible decision-making, and some plain old bad luck, their situation, and that of their mother, Linda Morelli (Laurie Metcalf), who is running for mayor, only gets worse.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The pair had been loafing for some time among a grove of apple trees on a private residence in Payson.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Within a few moments, an antlerless deer emerged, loafing along toward Ronnie, completely unalarmed.—
Jim Moore,
Outdoor Life,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Dahl’s books are fanciful and imaginative, but also dark, cynical, and mean (and, unfortunately, often reflected his real-life ugliness), spinning stories in which gruesome and unpleasant fates befell rotten kids, and adults were frequently selfish, cruel, and not to be trusted.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Repair Or Replace Damaged Parts Replace any boards or beams that are structurally damaged, cracked or split, rotten, or severely splintered.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And the profession’s appeal rests on a tension that The Pitt doesn’t shy away from.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The optics surrounding Denver’s decision to rest all five starters Friday and four of them Sunday were suspicious.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Kawhi Leonard sat out for the Clippers to rest ankle and wrist injuries, while Draymond Green was out for the Warriors with a bad back.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Was Paul’s effect on history, incalculably large, good or bad on the whole?—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bum.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bum. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
