bull

BUUL/ˈbʊl/

29 meanings of bull

1
nouncountable or uncountable
A male cow or other male animal of the cattle family, usually a grown one that can father calves.
The farmer keeps just one bull for his whole herd of cows.
They sold most of the young males but kept the strongest one as a bull.
UsageTake the bull by the horns means deal with a problem bravely.
Oppositecow
Note
2
rising marketadjective
Describes a market where prices are going up or people expect them to go up.
Lots of people made money during the bull market.
My dad thinks we are near the end of a bull run.
UsageSay a bull market; the opposite is a bear market.
Oppositebear
Note
3
investornouncountable or uncountable
Someone who buys stocks or goods because they think the prices will go up.
My uncle is a bull on oil, so he keeps buying more.
The bulls made a lot of money when the market went up.
UsageSay a bull on something you think will rise.
Oppositebear
Note
4
nonsensenouncolloquialeuphemisticuncountable
Silly or untrue talk, often meant to trick you. It is a softer form of a ruder word.
That's bull. Nobody can learn a new language in a week.
My uncle talks a lot of bull about cars he has never driven.
Similarnonsense, rubbish, garbage, baloney, hogwash
5
Pope's ordernouncountable
An official letter or order from the Pope.
The Pope sent out a bull with new rules for priests.
The museum shows a bull that a Pope signed six hundred years ago.
UsageUsually a papal bull.
Similardecree, edict
Note
6
nouncountable or uncountable
A grown male of some big animals, such as whales, elephants, camels and seals.
The biggest whale we saw was a bull, much larger than the females.
The old bull in the camel herd bit anyone who came too close.
Oppositecow
7
target centernounUKcountable or uncountable
The very middle of a target or dartboard, or a shot that hits it.
At the shooting range, she put her very first shot in the bull.
His shots were close to the middle of the target, but none of them were in the bull.
Similarbullseye
Note
8
male (before animal name)adjectivebefore a noun
Used before the name of a big animal to show it is a grown male.
We watched a bull giraffe eat leaves from the top of a tree.
The bull seal was much bigger than the females around it.
Similarmale
Oppositefemale
Note
9
horned cattlenouncountable or uncountable
Any animal from a fierce or long-horned type of cattle, male or female, at any age.
To a city kid, every big horned cow in the field was a bull.
My little sister calls any cow with big horns a bull.

Less common meanings

10
push throughverbintransitive
To push hard and roughly to get somewhere.
He bulled through the crowd to reach the stage.
Some shoppers bull through the doors as soon as the store opens.
UsageSay bull your way through a crowd.
Similarpush, force, barge, muscle, plow
Note
11
powerfuladjective
Very big and strong, like a male cow.
The farmer was a short man with a bull neck.
It took sheer bull strength to drag the fallen tree off the road.
Similarbeefy, robust
Oppositeweak, puny, feeble
12
nouncountable or uncountable
A man who is very big and strong.
Her brother is a real bull. He carried the sofa up the stairs alone.
The team needs a bull like him to push through the other players.
Similarhulk, giant, bruiser
Oppositeweakling
13
mate with cowsverbtransitive
For a bull, to mate with a cow or a young female cow.
Our old Hereford still bulls every cow in the herd each summer.
Each spring, we let the big male into the field to bull the cows.
Similarbreed, serve, cover
14
police officernounslangUScountable or uncountable
A police officer, a detective, or a guard who works for a train company.
A railroad bull found the boys hiding in an empty train car.
The bulls came into the bar looking for the man who robbed the bank.
Similarcop, policeman, detective
Note
15
push prices upverbtransitive
To try to make the price of something, like shares, go up in the market.
Some rich buyers tried to bull the wheat market last year.
They were bulling the company's shares by telling everyone to buy them.
Similarboost, inflate
Oppositebear
Note
16
tell liesverbintransitive
To say things that are not true.
Stop bulling and tell me where you really were.
Don't bull me. I know you weren't home last night.
Similarlie, fib
17
beefnounslanguncountable
Beef, the meat that comes from cattle.
Similarbeef
Note
18
official sealnouncountable
A seal fixed to an official paper, most often one sent by the Pope.
The museum shows a letter from the Pope with its lead bull still attached.
In the past, the Pope sealed important letters with a lead bull.
Similarseal
19
in heatverbintransitive
For a cow, to be ready to mate with a bull.
The farmer saw that one of the young cows was bulling and moved her to another field.
If a cow does not bull for many months, the farmer calls the vet.
Note
20
polish bootsverbUKtransitive
To rub polish into boots until they shine very brightly.
Every night the young soldiers had to bull their boots before bed.
He bulled his boots until they shone like glass.
Similarpolish, shine, buff
Note
21
nounslang
A man who has sex with another person's partner when both people in the couple agree.
22
verb
To laugh at someone in an unkind way, or to cheat them.
23
adjective
Stupid, or not showing good sense.
24
noundialectalPhiladelphia
A boy or a man.
25
nounslang
An old woman who is a lesbian.
26
nounobsoleteUK
An old British coin worth five shillings.
27
nounobsolete
Water left in an old liquor barrel until it tastes of the drink.
28
verbdated
To make something known through an official letter from the Pope.
29
nounobsolete
A ball of air in a liquid, like in soapy water.

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–3, 6–15, 17, 19

From Old English and Old Norse words for a bull. These go back to a very old root meaning “to blow, swell up.”

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Bull derives from Old English and Old Norse words for a bull. en.wiktionary.org
These words ultimately derive from an ancient root meaning “to blow, swell up”. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 5, 18

From the Latin word bulla, a round seal, which came into English through French. The Pope's decree was named after its seal.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

The word came into English through French from Latin bulla. en.wiktionary.org
Latin bulla can mean a round seal. en.wiktionary.org
The Pope's decree was named after its seal. kuleuven.be

Meanings 4, 16, 20

Probably from an Old French word meaning “trick” or “deceit.” Today many people think of it as a short form of bullshit.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

The word probably derives from an Old French word meaning “trick” or “deceit.” en.wikipedia.org