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bus.

abbr.

business

bus

(bŭs)

n. pl. bus·esor bus·ses

1. A long motor vehicle for carrying passengers, usually along a fixed route.

2. Informal A large or ungainly automobile.

3. A four-wheeled cart for carrying dishes in a restaurant.

4. Electricity A bus bar.

5. Computers A parallel circuit that connects the major components of a computer, allowing the transfer of electric impulses from one connected component to any other.

v. bused, bus·ing, bus·esor bussed , bus·sing , bus·ses

v. tr.

1. To transport in a bus.

2. To transport (schoolchildren) by bus to schools outside their neighborhoods, especially as a means of achieving racial integration.

a. To carry or clear (dishes) in a restaurant.

b. To clear dishes from (a table).

v. intr.

1. To travel in a bus.

2. To work as a busboy.

Idiom:

throw (someone) under the bus

To sacrifice or betray (another) for one's own gain or in order to save oneself: “That is no reason ... for a principled President to throw a large section of the country's labor force under the bus” (Steve Coll).

[Short for OMNIBUS. V., intr., sense 2, back-formation from BUSBOY.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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