overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

bus.

A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/bʌs//bʊs/Ireland, Northern-England/bʌs/Scotland/bɐs/Australia, Mid-Atlantic, New-Zealand, Philippines
  1. A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.

    I'm on the bus.
    I can't read on the bus because I get sick.
  2. A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads. A coach, a bus used for long travels.

    Canada · US
  3. Any motorized vehicle, such as a motorbike or car.

    UK · dated
  4. An electrical conductor or interface serving as a common connection for two or more circuits or components.

  5. Part of a MIRV missile, having on-board motors used to deliver the warhead to a target.

  6. An ambulance.

    slang
  7. An aeroplane.

    slang
  8. A network topology with each computer connected to a single cable.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-der. Proto-Italic *opnis Latin omnis Latin omnibuslbor. French omnibusbor. English omnibusclip. English bus Clipping of omnibus. Superseded earlier 'bus, where the apostrophe indicated a clipping. The shift in spelling likely reflects the fact that modern speakers no longer perceive this term as a clipping. The electrical sense is derived from figurative application of the automotive sense.

verb/bʌs//bʊs/Ireland, Northern-England/bʌs/Scotland/bɐs/Australia, Mid-Atlantic, New-Zealand, Philippines
  1. To transport via a motor bus.

    transitive
  2. To transport students to school, often to a more distant school for the purposes of achieving racial integration.

    US · transitive
  3. To travel by bus.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-der. Proto-Italic *opnis Latin omnis Latin omnibuslbor. French omnibusbor. English omnibusclip. English bus Clipping of omnibus. Superseded earlier 'bus, where the apostrophe indicated a clipping. The shift in spelling likely reflects the fact that modern speakers no longer perceive this term as a clipping. The electrical sense is derived from figurative application of the automotive sense.

verb
  1. To clear meal remains from.

    US · transitive
    He bussed tables as the restaurant emptied out.
  2. To work at clearing the remains of meals from tables or counters; to work as a busboy.

    US · intransitive
    He’s been bussing for minimum wage.
Where this word comes from

Back-formation from busboy.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

bus has 3 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

bus studiobus workshello, bus

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

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.