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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bulb.

The bulb-shaped underground portion of a plant such as a tulip, consisting of a shortened stem and many fleshy scale leaves, from which the rest of the plant may be regrown.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈbʌlb//ˈbʌb/

  1. The bulb-shaped underground portion of a plant such as a tulip, consisting of a shortened stem and many fleshy scale leaves, from which the rest of the plant may be regrown.

  2. The medulla oblongata.

    dated

  3. Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end.

    the bulb of the aorta

  4. Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end. A light bulb (not necessarily bulbous in shape).

    an incandescent bulb
    an LED bulb

  5. A bulbous protuberance at the forefoot of certain vessels to reduce turbulence.

  6. An onion.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós)bor. Latin bulbusder. English bulb Inherited from Middle English bulb, bolbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”).

verb/ˈbʌlb//ˈbʌb/

  1. To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós)bor. Latin bulbusder. English bulb Inherited from Middle English bulb, bolbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”).

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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.