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bulb Definition

bulb (bulb)

noun

  1. an underground bud that sends down roots and consists of a very short stem covered with leafy scales or layers, as in a lily, onion or hyacinth
  2. a corm, tuber, or tuberous root resembling a bulb, as in a crocus, dahlia or cyclamen
  3. any plant that grows from a bulb
  4. anything shaped like a bulb; rounded thing or enlarged part an electric light bulb, the bulb of a syringe
  5. Anat.
    1. an enlargement on some tissues, organs, or tubes, as at the root of a hair
    2. Obsolete medulla oblongata

Etymology: ME < L bulbus < Gr bolbos

bulb Synonyms

bulb

n.

globe, globule, ball, knob, nodule, corn, nub, tuber, bulbil, tubercle, corm, protuberance, head, bunch, swelling, bulge, tumor, tube. see also flower 2, plant. see also light 3, lamp.

Plant bulbs include: tulip, gladiolus, daffodil, jonquil, narcissus, amaryllis, anemone, crocus, hyacinth, snowdrop, spring-flowering, onion, camas, grape hyacinth; lilies: butterfly, tiger, Easter, spider, mariposa;

Types of electric light bulbs include: high-intensity, three-way, soft-white, two-way, flash bulb; fluorescent, halogen, incandescent, mercury-vapor, ultraviolet, infrared, sun lamp; floodlight, black light, strobe light or strobe*;

bulb Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • percussion: The first to look for is the bulb of percussion.

Converse of object

  • energy-save: For instance, if every household used energy-saving light bulbs, a power station could be closed.
  • replace: Should they need replacing the bulbs are available from all good hardware stores.

Adjective modifier

  • incandescent: I was changing incandescent bulbs four times a year.
  • fluorescent: Energy Saving Natural Lighting Bulbs Enjoy the benefits of natural daylight indoors with these remarkable fluorescent bulbs.
  • daffodil: In the autumn of 2000, 70,000 daffodil bulbs were planted on either side of the Broad Walk.
  • 60w: Typically, you'll hear people say " imagine trying to see a standard 60W light bulb that is twenty thousand miles away " .
  • flowering: The planting time for the earliest flowering bulbs begins in September.
  • light: Normal light bulbs emit more red then blue light.

Modifies a noun

  • thermometer: Measure the air temperature with an ordinary dry bulb thermometer in various locations.
  • filament: What is the operating temperature of a light bulb filament?
  • planting: To continue with shrub and bulb planting and litter pick.
  • planter: A bulb planter was then used to remove the plug of soil, and the strawberry plant planted with minimum effort.
  • holder: My first attempt at making a bulb holder insert worked well.

Noun used with modifier

  • halogen: I have been running with halogen bulbs in my tail lights for about 12 years now.
  • low-energy: We had an " energy display " too, with leaflets and cheap low-energy bulbs supplied by our local Friends of the Earth group.
  • watt: Bulbs: The bulbs are 20 watt halogen bulbs.
  • tungsten: The tungsten bulb has a relatively large, tightly wound filament.
  • filament: Different types of light bulbs for lamps Using filament bulbs The most commonly used bulbs are filament light bulbs.
  • tulip: I heard that the Dutch had been eating the tulip bulbs, hunger is a terrible thing.
bulb Quotes

Winter is for womenö The woman still at her knitting, At the cradle of Spanish walnut, Her body a bulb in the cold and too dumb to think.

—Plath, Sylvia

I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action.

—Williams,TennesseeThomas Lanier

Browse dictionary entries near bulb

  1. Bulawayo
  2. bul
  3. Bukovina
  4. Bukharin
  5. Bukavu
  6. Bujumbura
  7. built-up
  8. built-in
  9. built
  10. buildup
  1. bulbaceous
  2. bulbar
  3. bulbed
  4. bulbiferous
  5. bulbil
  6. bulbourethral gland
  7. bulbous
  8. bulbul
  9. Bulfinch
  10. Bulg