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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bamboo.

Any of the fast-growing grasses of the Bambusoideae subfamily, characterized by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/bæmˈbu//ˈbæːm.buː/India/ˈbambu/Philippines

  1. Any of the fast-growing grasses of the Bambusoideae subfamily, characterized by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem.

    countable · uncountable

  2. Wood of the bamboo plant as a material for building, furniture, etc.

    uncountable

  3. A stick, rod, pole, or cane of bamboo, especially one used as a vessel for liquids, or as a tool for corporal punishment.

    countable

  4. A didgeridoo.

    countable · slang · uncountable

  5. A member of the British military or British East India Company who spent so much time in Indonesia, India, or Malaysia that they never returned home.

    countable · slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Dravidian *wē Proto-Dravidian *mpu Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu Tamil வேம்பு (vēmpu)bor. ▲ Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu)bor. Malay bambubor. Portuguese bambubor. Dutch bamboebor. English bamboo Borrowed from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, from Malay bambu, from Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu), variant form of ಬೇವು (bēvu). Cognate with Malayalam വേപ്പ് (vēppŭ), Telugu వేప (vēpa), from Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu (“neem”).

adj/bæmˈbu//ˈbæːm.buː/India/ˈbambu/Philippines

  1. Made of the wood of the bamboo.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Dravidian *wē Proto-Dravidian *mpu Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu Tamil வேம்பு (vēmpu)bor. ▲ Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu)bor. Malay bambubor. Portuguese bambubor. Dutch bamboebor. English bamboo Borrowed from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, from Malay bambu, from Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu), variant form of ಬೇವು (bēvu). Cognate with Malayalam വേപ്പ് (vēppŭ), Telugu వేప (vēpa), from Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu (“neem”).

verb/bæmˈbu//ˈbæːm.buː/India/ˈbambu/Philippines

  1. To flog with a bamboo cane.

    transitive

  2. To paint (furniture, etc.) to give it the appearance of bamboo.

    transitive

  3. To penetrate sexually.

    India · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Dravidian *wē Proto-Dravidian *mpu Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu Tamil வேம்பு (vēmpu)bor. ▲ Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu)bor. Malay bambubor. Portuguese bambubor. Dutch bamboebor. English bamboo Borrowed from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, from Malay bambu, from Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu), variant form of ಬೇವು (bēvu). Cognate with Malayalam വേപ്പ് (vēppŭ), Telugu వేప (vēpa), from Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu (“neem”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.