bud

(bŭd)

1. Botany
   a. A small protuberance on a stem or branch, sometimes enclosed in protective scales and containing an undeveloped shoot, leaf, or flower.
   b. The stage or condition of having buds: branches in full bud.
2. Biology
   a. An asexual reproductive structure, as in yeast or a hydra, that consists of an outgrowth capable of developing into a new individual.
   b. A small, rounded organic part, such as a taste bud, that resembles a plant bud.
3. One that is not yet fully developed: the bud of a new idea.

1. To put forth or produce buds: a plant that buds in early spring.
2. To develop or grow from or as if from a bud: “listened sympathetically for a moment, a bemused smile budding forth” (Washington Post).
3. To be in an undeveloped stage or condition.
4. To reproduce asexually by forming a bud.

1. To cause to put forth buds.
2. To graft a bud onto (a plant).

Related Forms:

• budˈder noun

(bŭd)