buzzes

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of buzz.

   Her phone buzzes whenever a new message arrives.

   The crowd buzzes with excitement before the band takes the stage.

   Note

   The form a single subject calls for: a phone, a bee, a whole crowd treated as one. Used without an object, it covers the literal hum and the excited talk of a group, and it pairs naturally with with: the hall buzzes with rumor. It can also take an object, meaning to pass something along in whispers, as when someone buzzes a story about.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of buzz.

   A series of buzzes told her the elevator had reached each floor.

   The garden was alive with the buzzes of bees moving between flowers.

   Note

   Only the countable uses of buzz take this plural: separate hums, signals, informal calls, or rumors going around. The uncountable uses, such as the low murmur filling a room or the rush of excitement, normally stay singular. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb, so context alone shows whether buzzes from the hive are things or actions.

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