buzz

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A continuous humming noise, as of bees.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

buhz

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈbʌz

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones.
The audible friction of voiced consonants.
A whisper.
informal
A rush or feeling of energy or excitement; a feeling of slight intoxication.
informal
A telephone call or e-mail.
informal
Major topic of conversation; widespread rumor; information spread behind the scenes.

verb

Make a buzzing sound
“Bees were buzzing around the hive.”
intransitive
To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings.
Of a group of people, to talk about some interesting topic excitedly.
by extension
To utter a murmuring sound; to speak with a low, humming voice.
chiefly of an insect
To fly while making such a sound.
transitive
To whisper; to communicate, as tales, in an undertone; to spread, as a report, by whispers or secretly.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones.

Used this way, buzz is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use buzz

“The buzz of excitement was so great that a formal denial was issued.”noun
“Bees were buzzing around the hive.”verb
“This office is buzzing with activity.”verb

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

buzz sawbuzz wordbuzz cutlow buzzloud buzzfly buzzgeneral buzznew buzz

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

buzzernounInflected form
A push button at an outer door that gives a ringing or buzzing signal when pushed.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

buzz sawnounCompound term
A power saw that has a steel disk with cutting teeth on the periphery.
buzz offverbCompound term
Leave immediately.
buzz bombnounCompound term
A small jet-propelled winged missile that carries a bomb.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: continuous humming noise or as of bees

hum

verb

Sense: make a buzzing sound

hum

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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.