bus
- 1A big vehicle that carries many people on roads, often along a fixed route.
We take the bus to school every morning.
The bus stopped at the corner to pick up more people.
UsageSay by bus, and usually get on or off the bus.
- 2A shared connection that carries power or information between the parts of a machine or system, or between computers.
Like a main road that many smaller streets connect to.
The computer sends data along a bus to its memory.
Each circuit in the panel connects to the same bus.
Note
- 3To go from one place to another by riding a bus.
I bus to work every day to save money.
We bused to the stadium because parking costs too much.
UsageTake the bus is the usual way to say it.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4
- 5
- 6An ambulance: the vehicle that rushes sick or hurt people to the hospital.
We need a bus at this corner. Someone just collapsed.
The paramedics loaded her into the bus and raced toward the hospital.
Similarambulance
Note
- 7
- 8The main part of a satellite or spacecraft that carries its equipment and holds its power, engines, and controls.
- 9The part of a missile that uses small motors to steer its warheads toward their targets.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of bus apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
It is a short form of the word 'omnibus'. The electrical meaning is a figurative use of the vehicle meaning.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Bus is a shortened form of omnibus. en.wiktionary.org
- The electrical meaning derives from a figurative application of the vehicle meaning. en.wiktionary.org
It was made by shortening the word 'busboy'.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The restaurant verb 'bus' was formed by shortening 'busboy'. en.wiktionary.org