bud
bud Lexical Profile
bud Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A compact, undeveloped growth on a plant stem that develops into a leaf, flower, or shoot.
"The warm spring weather caused every bud on the cherry tree to open into a delicate pink blossom."
North American An informal term for a close friend or companion, often used as a familiar form of address (short for 'buddy').
"Hey bud, do you have a spare moment to help me move this heavy desk?"
A small, rounded anatomical structure or embryonic outgrowth in an organism, such as a taste bud on the tongue or a limb bud in an embryo.
"Each microscopic taste bud on the human tongue contains specialized receptor cells that detect flavors."
• verb
To form or put forth buds (of a plant or tree).
"The rose bushes in the courtyard usually begin to bud in early April."
To begin to grow, develop, or show early promise.
"Their lifelong creative partnership began to bud while they were studying architecture at university."
To graft a single bud from one plant onto the stock of another for horticultural propagation.
"Commercial orchardists often bud heirloom apple varieties onto hardy, disease-resistant rootstocks."
• Rhymes for bud
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in late Middle English as 'budde', a word of uncertain origin that is likely related to Low German 'budde' or Middle Dutch 'bodde', referring to something swollen or plump.