bud
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Potent cannabis taken from the flowering part of the plant, or marijuana generally.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
buhdIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbʌd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
usually uncountableslang
Potent cannabis taken from the flowering part of the plant (the "bud"), or marijuana generally.
figuratively
Something that has begun to develop.
A small rounded body in the process of splitting from an organism, which may grow into a genetically identical new organism.
USCanadaAustraliaslanguncountable
Marijuana.
A weaned calf in its first year, so called because the horns are then beginning to bud.
A male nickname.
verb
Develop buds
intransitive
To form buds.
intransitive
To reproduce by splitting off buds.
intransitive
To begin to grow, or to issue from a stock in the manner of a bud, as a horn.
intransitive
To be like a bud in respect to youth and freshness, or growth and promise.
transitive
To put forth as a bud.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Potent cannabis taken from the flowering part of the plant (the "bud"), or marijuana generally.
Used this way, bud is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in everyday conversation and social media or informal writing contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Very casual
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Playful
- Usage feel
- Playful and informal
Where it naturally appears
- Everyday conversation
- Social media/informal writing
Usage note
Slang: natural in speech and messages between friends, but out of place in school, work or published writing.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use bud
- “A tiny rose bud started to open in the warm morning sun.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.