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
1
2
: large of its kind
a bull lathe
bulled; bulling; bulls
: to advance forcefully
bulled; bulling; bulls
slang
: to fool especially by fast boastful talk
slang
: to engage in idle and boastful talk
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- bobby [British]
- constable [chiefly British]
- cop
- copper
- flatfoot [slang]
- fuzz
- gendarme
- lawman
- officer
- police officer
- policeman
- shamus [slang]
Verb (1)
Noun (2)
Verb (2)
Noun (3)
Examples of bull in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Mejia sprints out of his home with a bat like a bull when the gate opens.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2024
Our narrator cuts to Houston, reminiscing on Jiffy cornbread and mechanical bulls in a medley of singing and rapping.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Thirty large mammal experts—including equine veterinary dentists, anesthesiologists, and veterinarians—were called in from across the U.S., South Africa, and India to assist in the male bull elephant's operation, which was the equivalent of a human cavity filling.
—Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
The Bitcoin bull is back After suffering through a long crypto winter, Bitcoin returned to action in the first quarter of 2024.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
Three bulls have now been found in this Polish province; Ukowski, who identified a second bull earlier this year, is responsible for two of them, as CBS News reports.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024
The bulls’ take While Morrison fears gold prices may have reached their peak for this year, others are more bullish.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2024
Smaller bulls also participate, splashing the sky with colorful explosions.
—Fernanda Pesce and Alexis Triboulard, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024
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
Stephen Hawkins, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2024
Illinois closed the gap to 13-7 on a touchdown run by Reggie Love, who bulled his way into the end zone from five yards out.
—Steve Stein, Chicago Tribune, 16 Sep. 2023
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
Noun
One player from the Dominican Republic used his money to buy six bulls for breeding, Schwimer said.
—Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Mejia sprints out of his home with a bat like a bull when the gate opens.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2024
Our narrator cuts to Houston, reminiscing on Jiffy cornbread and mechanical bulls in a medley of singing and rapping.
—Leah Asmelash, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Thirty large mammal experts—including equine veterinary dentists, anesthesiologists, and veterinarians—were called in from across the U.S., South Africa, and India to assist in the male bull elephant's operation, which was the equivalent of a human cavity filling.
—Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
The Bitcoin bull is back After suffering through a long crypto winter, Bitcoin returned to action in the first quarter of 2024.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
Three bulls have now been found in this Polish province; Ukowski, who identified a second bull earlier this year, is responsible for two of them, as CBS News reports.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2024
The bulls’ take While Morrison fears gold prices may have reached their peak for this year, others are more bullish.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2024
Smaller bulls also participate, splashing the sky with colorful explosions.
—Fernanda Pesce and Alexis Triboulard, Quartz, 9 Mar. 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
Gronowski then bulled into the end zone for a 10-yard score midway through the third quarter, and on the next possession threw a 23-yard TD to Jadon Janke.
—Stephen Hawkins, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2024
Illinois closed the gap to 13-7 on a touchdown run by Reggie Love, who bulled his way into the end zone from five yards out.
—Steve Stein, Chicago Tribune, 16 Sep. 2023
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
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Bull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bull. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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