bus

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bus"

Languages (33)

Translingual • English

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Afar • Afrikaans • Antigua and Barbuda Creole English • Catalan • Cimbrian • Czech • Danish • Dutch • French • Ghomara • Indonesian • Irish • Italian • Kankanaey • Lithuanian • Lombard • Maltese • Middle Irish • Norman • Norwegian Nynorsk • Polish • Romagnol • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Somali • Spanish • Swedish • Tagalog • Tok Pisin • West Flemish • West Frisian

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Busa.

Symbol

bus

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Bokobaru.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Bokobaru terms

English

A bus (motor vehicle).

A London double-decker bus.

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-der.

Proto-Italic *opnis

Latin omnis

Latin omnibuslbor.

French omnibusbor.

English omnibusclip.

English bus

Clipping of omnibus. Superseded earlier 'bus, where the apostrophe indicated a clipping. The shift in spelling likely reflects the fact that modern speakers no longer perceive this term as a clipping. The electrical sense is derived from figurative application of the automotive sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʌs/, enPR: bŭs
  • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /bʊs/
  • (Scotland) IPA^(key): /bʌs/
  • (Australia, New Zealand, Mid-Atlantic, Philippines) IPA^(key): /bɐs/
  • (Northern Cities Vowel Shift, Ireland) IPA^(key): /bɔs/
  • (Birmingham, Black Country) IPA^(key): /bʊz/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophones: Buss, buss
• Rhymes: -ʌs

Noun

bus (plural buses or busses)

1. (automotive) A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.

   I'm on the bus.

   I can't read on the bus because I get sick.

   Synonyms: autobus, coach, loser cruiser, motorbus, motorcoach, omnibus, Shillibeer (obsolete)

   Hyponyms: booze bus, commuter bus, school bus, short bus

   1. (chiefly US, Canada) A coach, a bus used for long travels.
2. (UK, dated) Any motorized vehicle, such as a motorbike or car.
   • 1927, Dorothy Sayers, Unnatural Death‎^[2]:

     “Excuse me,” said the stranger, who turned out to be a youth in motorcycling kit, “but could you give me a hand with my bus?”

   • 1932, Dorothy Sayers, Have His Carcase:

     It had to be something with only two cylinders, if the whole ignition was to be put out of action with one needle: that is, a Morgan, a Belsize-Bradshaw, or a motorbike. He probably avoided the bike on the grounds of exposure to weather, and chose the Morgan as the next most handy and numerous two-cylinder ’bus.

3. (electronics) An electrical conductor or interface serving as a common connection for two or more circuits or components.

   Synonyms: busbar, digit trunk, electrical bus

   Hyponym: data bus

4. Part of a MIRV missile, having on-board motors used to deliver the warhead to a target.
5. (medical industry, slang) An ambulance.
6. (military slang, 1910s–1940s) An aeroplane.
7. (networking) A network topology with each computer connected to a single cable.

Alternative forms

• 'bus (archaic)

Derived terms

• address bus
• airbus
• Airbus
• and then everyone on the bus clapped
• articulated bus
• baht bus
• banana bus
• bangbus
• battle bus
• battlebus
• bendy bus
• boo-boo bus
• bookbus
• Boris bus
• busable
• busbar
• bus bar
• bus boy
• bus bridge
• bus buddy
• bus bulb
• bus captain
• bus conductor
• bus conductress
• bus driver
• bus duct
• bus factor
• bus fare
• busful
• bus girl
• busgirl
• bus-holder
• busjacking
• bus-keeper
• bus lane
• busless
• buslike
• bus line
• busload
• busman
• bus mastering
• busmate
• bus mile
• bus ministry
• bus pass
• bus plunge
• bus rapid transit
• bus replacement service
• bus route
• bus shelter
• bussick
• bus stand
• bus station
• bus stop
• bus stop chicane
• bus-stop flight
• bussy
• bustaurant
• bus test
• bustitute
• bustitution
• bus topology
• bus trap
• bus war
• busway
• catch the bus
• cheese bus
• chicken bus
• city bus
• citybus
• commuter bus
• control bus
• corporation bus
• data bus
• double-decker bus
• drive the porcelain bus
• e-bus
• electric bus
• enterprise service bus
• face like the back end of a bus
• frontside bus
• front-side bus
• gyrobus
• helibus
• horse bus
• how do I get to the bus station
• kneeling bus
• like the back end of a bus
• London bus
• metrobus
• microbus
• minibus
• miss the bus
• multibus (adjective)
• national school bus chrome
• on the other bus
• open-top bus
• owl bus
• park the beef bus in tuna town
• park the bus
• party bus
• pedibus
• peripheral bus
• playbus
• porcelain bus
• public utility bus
• put on a bus
• railbus
• ride the short bus
• rubberneck bus
• satellite bus
• school bus
• school bus yellow
• shuttle bus
• sleeper bus
• spacecraft bus
• splitter bus
• stage bus
• straddling bus
• struggle bus
• superbus
• system bus
• taxibus
• telebus
• the wheels came off the bus
• the wheels fell off the bus
• throw under a bus
• throw under the bus
• tour bus
• transit bus
• trolleybus
• trolley bus
• walking bus
• walking school bus
• waterbus
• water bus
• where does this bus go

Descendants

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: bas
• → Arabic: بَاص (bāṣ)
• ⇒ Burmese: ဘတ်စ်ကား (bhatcka:)
• → Cantonese: 巴士
  • → Mandarin: 巴士 (bāshì)
• → Chichewa: bási class 9
• → German: Bus m
• → Hindi: बस (bas)
• → Irish: bus
• → Japanese: バス (basu)
  • → Hakka: 巴士 (pa-sṳ́)
  • → Hokkien: 巴士 (bá-suh)
  • → Kavalan: basu
  • → Sakizaya: basu
• → Korean: 버스 (beoseu)
• → Kurtöp: བས (bas)
• → Malay: bas
• → Malayalam: ബസ് (basŭ)
• → Pashto: بس
• ⇒ Sanskrit: बसयान (basayāna)
• → Swedish: buss
• → Scottish Gaelic: bus
• → Tamil: பஸ் (pas)
• → Thai: บัส (bát)
• → Tibetan: འབའ་སེ ('ba' se)
• → Ulithian: baas
• → Urdu: بس
• → Welsh: bws

Translations

See bus/translations § Noun.

Verb

bus (third-person singular simple present buses or busses, present participle busing or bussing, simple past and past participle bused or bussed)

1. (transitive, automotive, transport) To transport via a motor bus.
   • 1999, Michael Saso, Velvet Bonds: The Chinese Family‎^[3], →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page ix:

     Because the new language school of Fu Jen University in the nearby city of Hsinchu was not yet completed, we were bused with other aspiring students of Chinese language to a farming village called Kuanhsi (Guanxi: West Pass), nestled against the tea growing hills of Hsinchu county.

   • 2024 March 13, Halya Coynash, “Russians with machine guns ensure occupied Ukraine ‘votes’ for Putin”, in Human Rights in Ukraine. The Information Portal of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group‎^[4], archived from the original on 6 August 2024:

     Machine guns are the most effective form of ‘election campaigning’, but the occupiers appear to also be bussing in ‘voters’ from the Russian Federation, and ‘registering total strangers in the homes of people forced to flee after the Russian invasion.

   • 2024 March 14, Clive Ndou, “ANC set to open case against ‘ghost IFP voters’”, in The Witness‎^[5], archived from the original on 10 February 2026:

     The ANC has accused the IFP of bussing in voters from other wards to vote during the recent Newcastle Municipality by-election won by the IFP.

2. (transitive, automotive, transport, chiefly US) To transport students to school, often to a more distant school for the purposes of achieving racial integration.
   • 1966, Phil Ochs, “Love Me, I'm a Liberal”, in Phils Ochs in Concert:

     But if you ask me to bus my children / I hope the cops take down your name

   • 2008, Ashley R. Holm, Racial Differences in Student Engagement and Attainment: A Study of Topeka High School, 1939--1984, ProQuest, →ISBN, page 23:

     ...to strike down Detroit's federal court order to bus students across school district lines for the purpose of desegregation and therefore nullify many busing programs throughout the country.

3. (intransitive, automotive, transport) To travel by bus.

Usage notes

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary only presents the spellings buses, busing, and bused, implying that these are the preferred forms in Canada.

Translations

See bus/translations § Verb.

Etymology 2

Back-formation from busboy.

Verb

bus (third-person singular simple present buses or busses, present participle busing or bussing, simple past and past participle bused or bussed)

1. (transitive, US, food service) To clear meal remains from.

   He bussed tables as the restaurant emptied out.

   • 2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 13:

     He was hired to bus tables, but after a few incidents they moved him to the kitchen.

2. (intransitive, US, food service) To work at clearing the remains of meals from tables or counters; to work as a busboy.

   He’s been bussing for minimum wage.

Derived terms

• busser

Translations

See bus/translations § Verb.

Anagrams

• SBU, UBS, USB, sub, sub-, sub.

Afar

Etymology

Akin to Saho bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbus/ [ˈbʊs]
• Hyphenation: bus

Noun

bús m (plural buswá f or busuusá f)

1. vagina

Declension

Declension of bús
absolutive	bús
predicative	búsu
subjective	bús
genitive	bustí
Postpositioned forms l-case búsul k-case búsuk t-case búsut h-case búsuh

References

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “bus”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbœs/, [ˈbəs]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bus (plural busse, diminutive bussie)

1. (automotive) bus

Antigua and Barbuda Creole English

Etymology

From English burst.

Verb

bus (past min bus, future go bus, completive dun bus, imperfective a bus)

1. burst

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈbus]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Homophone: vos (Central)

Etymology 1

Cognate to Spanish buso (“underwater snail”) and Portuguese búzio (“underwater snail”), from Latin būcina (“horn”).

Noun

bus m or f by sense (plural bussos)

1. diver

Derived terms

• bussejar

Etymology 2

Probably from Old Norse buza (“big wide ship”).

Noun

bus m (plural bussos)

1. (archaic) a large sailing ship used in the 12th and 13th centuries, broad of beam and with two or three masts

Etymology 3

Probably from Persian بوس (bus, “kiss”).

Noun

bus m (plural busos)

1. (archaic) flattery

Usage notes

• Only found in the phrase fer lo bus (“to kiss up”).

Etymology 4

Clipping of autobús.

Noun

bus m (plural busos)

1. bus (vehicle)

Etymology 5

Borrowed from English bus.

Noun

bus m (plural busos)

1. bus (electrical connector)

Further reading

• “bus”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Italian bus, a clipping of omnibus, from French omnibus.

Noun

bus m

1. (Luserna) bus (vehicle)

   Benn rifta dar bus? ― What time does the bus come?

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Czech

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbus]

Noun

bus m inan

1. bus (motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads)

   Synonym: autobus

Declension

Declension of bus (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	bus	busy
genitive	busu	busů
dative	busu	busům
accusative	bus	busy
vocative	buse	busy
locative	buse, busu	busech
instrumental	busem	busy

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbas]

Noun

bus m inan

1. (computing) bus (an electrical interface connecting two or more components)

Declension

Declension of bus (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	bus	busy
genitive	busu	busů
dative	busu	busům
accusative	bus	busy
vocative	buse	busy
locative	busu	busech
instrumental	busem	busy

Danish

Etymology

Shortening of omnibus, from French omnibus, from Latin omnibus (“for all”), dative plural of omnis (“all”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bus/, [b̥us]

Noun

bus c (singular definite bussen, plural indefinite busser)

1. bus, coach

Inflection

Declension of bus

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bus	bussen	busser	busserne
genitive	bus’	bussens	bussers	bussernes

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʏs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bus
• Rhymes: -ʏs
• Homophone: Bus

Etymology 1

Shortening of omnibus, from Latin omnibus (“for everything/all”); dative plural of omnis (“all”).

Noun

bus m (plural bussen, diminutive busje n)

1. (transport) bus, omnibus (vehicle)
2. (transport, in diminutive) minibus, minivan
3. bus (electrical conductor)

Derived terms

• autobus
• bestelbus
• bibliobus
• busbaan
• buschauffeur
• busconducteur
• bushalte
• buskaart
• buslijn
• busreis
• busrit
• busticket
• busverbinding
• busverkeer
• buurtbus
• hippiebus
• kippenbus
• lijnbus
• minibus
• pendelbus
• schoolbus
• shuttlebus
• snelbus
• stadsbus
• streekbus
• toerbus

Descendants

• → Caribbean Javanese: bis
• → Papiamentu: bùs
• → Sranan Tongo: bùs
  • → Aukan: besi
  • → Saramaccan: bési

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch busse, from Old Dutch *bussa, from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā. Doublet of buks (“shotgun”), box, and pyxis.

Noun

bus f (plural bussen, diminutive busje n)

1. a container, a box, a tin
2. a bushing
3. (chiefly historical) one of a variety of early modern firearms, such as flintlock and matchlock guns
4. (dated, Netherlands) a voluntary sick fund, especially before the introduction of universal health care in the Netherlands in the 1940s

Derived terms

• beschuitbus
• brievenbus
• broodbus
• busdokter
• busgeschut
• buskruit
• busmeester
• collectebus
• donderbus
• drinkbus
• geldbus
• haakbus
• koffiebus
• melkbus
• postbus
• schoolbus
• schrootbus
• spuitbus
• stembus
• suikerbus
• ziekenbus

Descendants

• Petjo: bus
• → Indonesian: bis (“letterbox, mailbox”), bos (“bushing”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. Related to etymology 2.

Verb

bus

1. inflection of bussen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

French

Etymology 1

Clipping of omnibus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bys/
  • (New Caledonia) IPA^(key): /bʌs/

• Homophones: busse, busses, bussent

Noun

bus m or f (invariable)

1. bus

   Synonym: autobus

Derived terms

• arrêt de bus
• bus accordéon
• bus scolaire
• service rapide par bus

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /by/

• Homophones: bu, bue, bues, but, bût

Verb

bus

1. first/second-person singular past historic of boire

Participle

bus m pl

1. masculine plural of bu

Further reading

• “bus”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Ghomara

Pronunciation

• (Iɛraben) IPA^(key): [bus]

Verb

bus

1. singular imperative of bas

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʊs/
• IPA^(key): (alternative pronunciations, especially for the word of etymology 1) /bɪs/, /bəs/, /bɘs/, /bas/
  • For the pronunciations /bəs/, /bɘs/, comparable to Afrikaans bus.
• Rhymes: -bʊs
• Hyphenation: bus

Etymology 1

Sebuah bus yang berwarna biru kuning.

Borrowed from Dutch bus, shortening of omnibus, from Latin omnibus (“for everything/all”); dative plural of omnis (“all”).

Alternative forms

• bis (nonstandard)

Noun

bus

1. bus (a motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads)

Derived terms

• bus AKAP
• bus AKDP
• bus antara kota
• bus antarkota
• bus cepat
• bus dua tingkat
• bus gandeng
• bus karyawan
• bus kota
• bus malam
• bus pasar
• bus patas
• bus pegawai
• bus sekolah
• bus tempel
• bus tidur
• bus tingkat
• bus trans
• bus wisata

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic, related to embus or hembus.

Noun

bus

1. imitation sound of blowing wind; can be roughly translated as whoosh

Further reading

• “bus”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Irish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bˠʊsˠ/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /bˠɞsˠ/

Noun

bus m (genitive singular bus, nominative plural busanna)

1. bus
2. (computing) bus

Declension

Declension of bus (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative bus busanna vocative a bhus a bhusanna genitive bus busanna dative bus busanna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an bus na busanna genitive an bhus na mbusanna dative leis an mbus don bhus leis na busanna

Derived terms

• bus altach (“bendy bus”)
• bus dhá stór (“double decker bus”)
• bus dhá urlár (“double decker bus”)
• bus scoile (“school bus”)
• bus tralaí (“trolleybus”)
• busáras (“bus station”)
• buslána (“bus lane”)
• lána bus (“bus lane”)
• líne busanna (“bus line”)
• pas bus (“bus pass”)
• scáthlán bus (“bus shelter”)
• stad bus (“bus-stop”)
• stiúrthóir bus (“bus conductor”)
• tairseach bus (“platform of bus”)
• tiománaí bus (“bus-driver”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of bus

radical	lenition	eclipsis
bus	bhus	mbus

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “bus”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• “bus”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “bus”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm

Italian

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bus m (invariable)

1. bus

Kankanaey

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbus/ [ˈbos]
  • Rhymes: -us
• (parts of Bauko, Sabangan and Tadian) IPA^(key): /ˈbuh/ [ˈboh]
  • Rhymes: -uh
• Syllabification: bus

Noun

bus

1. alternative spelling of bos

Lithuanian

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbʊs]
• Rhymes: -ʊs
• Syllabification: bùs

Verb

bùs

1. third-person singular future of būti
2. third-person plural future of būti
3. third-person singular future of busti
4. third-person plural future of busti

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian buca, ultimately from Latin bucca, whence French French bouche.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /byːs/

Noun

bus

1. hole

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buːs/
• Rhymes: -uːs

Verb

bus

1. second-person singular imperative of bies

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *bussus, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to swell, bulge”).

Noun

bus (gender unknown)

1. (rare, poetic) lip

Descendants

• Irish: pus
• Scottish Gaelic: bus

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “4 bus”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*bussu-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 84

Norman

Verb

bus

1. first-person singular preterite of baithe

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

bus n (definite singular buset, uncountable)

1. (dialectal, Setesdal, Telemark) alternative form of bos

Polish

bus

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbus/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -us
• Syllabification: bus

Etymology 1

Clipping of autobus. Calque of English bus.

Noun

bus m animal or m inan (diminutive busik)

1. (colloquial) bus (motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads)

Declension

Declension of bus

	singular	plural
nominative	bus	busy
genitive	busa/busu	busów
dative	busowi	busom
accusative	busa/bus	busy
instrumental	busem	busami
locative	busie	busach
vocative	busie	busy

Derived terms

nouns

• aerobus
• barobus
• bibliobus
• mikrobus
• szynobus

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.?

Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós)

Ancient Greek μικρο- (mikro-)lbor.

Polish mikro-

Polish bus

Polish mikrobusclip.

Polish bus

Clipping of mikrobus.

Noun

bus m animal or m inan (diminutive busik)

1. (colloquial) van (motor vehicle used to carry goods or, usually, up to 10 people)

Declension

Declension of bus

	singular	plural
nominative	bus	busy
genitive	busa/busu	busów
dative	busowi	busom
accusative	busa/bus	busy
instrumental	busem	busami
locative	busie	busach
vocative	busie	busy

Further reading

• “bus”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[6] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “bus”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[7] (in Polish)

Romagnol

FWOTD – 6 April 2014

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bus/

Noun

bus m

1. hole
   • September 2012, Daniela Cortesi, Bônanòta in la Ludla, il Papiro, page 15:

     un sorg e’ cor in priscia int e’ su bus.

     a mouse runs hastily towards its hole.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b̥us̪/

Noun

bus m (genitive singular buis, plural buis or busan)

1. mouth

   Synonym: beul

2. pout (facial expression)

Derived terms

• busach (“pouty; sullen”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b̥ɤs̪/

Noun

bus m (genitive singular bus, plural busaichean)

1. bus

Mutation

Mutation of bus

radical	lenition
bus	bhus

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Clipping of autóbus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bûs/

Noun

bȕs m inan (Cyrillic spelling бу̏с)

1. (colloquial) autobus

Declension

Declension of bus

	singular	plural
nominative	bȕs	busevi
genitive	bùsa	buseva
dative	bùsu	busevima
accusative	bȕs	buseve
vocative	bȕse	busevi
locative	bùsu	busevima
instrumental	bùsom	busevima

Somali

Noun

bus ?

1. dust

Spanish

Etymology

Clipping of autobús (in Spain) or borrowed from English bus (in Latin America).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbus/ [ˈbus]
• Rhymes: -us
• Syllabification: bus

Noun

bus m (plural buses)

1. clipping of autobús; bus

   Synonyms: autobús; see also Thesaurus:autobús

2. (computing) bus

Usage notes

• In Spain, bus is a colloquial word and in Latin America it is a formal word.

Derived terms

• bus de cortesía
• bus oruga
• busero
• carril bus

Related terms

• ómnibus
• trolebús

Further reading

• “bus”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Etymology

From the verb busa (“make mischief, prank”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʉːs/, [bʉ͍ːs]
• Rhymes: -ʉːs

Noun

bus n (uncountable)

1. (fairly innocent) mischief (by children), pranking

   bus eller godis

   trick or treat ("mischief or candy")

2. (colloquial, chiefly in the definite "buset") criminals (on the lower rungs of the social ladder)

   att ta fast buset

   to catch the criminals

Usage notes

Associated with mischief and pranks by children, with ironic extensions to adults fooling around and criminality.

Declension

Declension of bus

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	bus	bus
	definite	buset	busets
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Derived terms

• busig
• buslur
• busunge
• busvissla
• NetBus

References

• “bus”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• sub

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English bus, clipping of omnibus, from French omnibus, from Latin omnibus (“to/for all”).

Pronunciation

• (common) IPA^(key): /ˈbus/ [ˈbʊs]
  • Rhymes: -us
  • Syllabification: bus
• (Taglish) IPA^(key): /ˈbas/ [ˈbas]
  • Rhymes: -as

Noun

bus (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜐ᜔ or ᜊᜐ᜔)

1. bus (vehicle)

   Synonym: awtobus

2. bus (electrical conductor)

Usage notes

• The pronunciation /bas/ is commonly used in Taglish speech, especially by younger speakers.

Derived terms

• ibus
• magbus
• pambus

See also

• kamyon
• kotse
• sasakyan
• trak

References

• “bus”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English bush.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bus/

Noun

bus

1. bush (remote rural areas)
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:25:

     God i kamapim ol kain kain animal bilong ples na ol bikpela na liklik animal bilong bus. God i lukim olgeta dispela samting i gutpela, na em i amamas.

     →New International Version translation

Derived terms

• bus kanaka

References

• Volker, C. A. (general editor), et al. (2008), Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin English Dictionary, Oxford University Press in association with Wantok Niuspepa, →ISBN, page 14

West Flemish

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch busch, variant of bosch, from Old Dutch *busc, from Proto-Germanic *buskaz.

Noun

bus n

1. forest

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Same as Dutch "bus", but is it derived from that or shortened from "omnibus" independently?”)

Noun

bus m

1. bus

West Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbøs/

Noun

bus c (plural bussen, diminutive buske)

1. bus (vehicle)

   Synonym: autobus

Further reading

• “bus”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011