Bud Meaning
/bʌd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA newly sprouted leaf or blossom that has not yet unfolded.
nounSomething that has begun to develop.
Sentence Examples
The roses are in bud.
A rose is sweeter in the bud than full blown.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In early spring, the gardener noticed a tiny green ____ on the rose bush, ready to open into a flower.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The flower ____ is just beginning to open in the warm morning sun city.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English budde, bodde (“bud, seed pod”), from Old English *budde, from Proto-West Germanic *buʀdā, from Proto-Germanic *buzdǭ (compare archaic German Butte (“rosehip”), Swedish dialect bodd (“head”)), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”). Compare also German Low German Butte, Butt (“bud”), Dutch bot (“bud”), regional German Butz, Butzen (“seed pod; apple core”), German Low German Haagbutt ("rosehip"; Haagbudden (“rosehips”, plural)).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Among Turks, pills consisting of hemp buds, muscat nuts, saffron, and honey were a popular aphrodisiac."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 113:
"My pretty bud was unfolding and I was not there to see it. She was developing so rapidly, I felt I could not be from her a day without missing some sweetness that could never come again."
— 1874, Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, a Popular Journal of General Literature:
"And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 17:8:
"Young budding virgin, fair and fresh and sweet, / Whither away, or where is thy abode?"
— c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
"What appeared the same to us really wasn't. Every day was different, if we looked closely enough. Like the topiary tree that finally budded a rose after Terrence died: […]"
— 2013, Julie Brown, The Brownstone, page 263:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In early spring, the gardener noticed a tiny green ____ on the rose bush, ready to open into a flower.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The flower ____ is just beginning to open in the warm morning sun city.