bud

The definition of a bud is a small swelling that is underdeveloped or not yet fully developed, or is a slang word for a friend.

(noun)

An example of a bud is a tiny flower that has not yet opened or reached maturity.
An example of a bud is a best friend.

Bud means to put forth tiny swellings such as new branches, leaves or flowers.

(verb)

An example of bud is for a tree to show its first signs of flowering in the spring.

See bud in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. a small swelling or projection on a plant, from which a shoot, cluster of leaves, or flower develops
2. a partly opened flower
any undeveloped or immature person or thing
an asexually produced swelling or growth on the body of a sponge, fungus, etc. that develops into a new individual

Origin: ME budde, bud, seedpod < IE base *bheu-: see big

intransitive verb budded, budding

Origin: < budthe

transitive verb

Related Forms:

☆

noun

Slang buddy (): used in addressing a man or boy

See bud in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

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.
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.
One that is not yet fully developed: the bud of a new idea.

verb bud·ded, bud·ding, buds

verb, intransitive

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

verb, transitive