bud

From a bud on plants, bushes, and trees come flowers and leaves. This word is a noun.

These are buds.

• Leaf buds in early spring become leaves.
• Flower buds become flowers.
• Lilacs usually put out buds in April.
• One way to control the growth of a plant is to remove the buds.

Some friends call each other "bud." This is a shortened form of the word buddy.

• I’m going out with my buds this weekend.
• Javier and Tony are the best of buds.
• Hey, bud. How’s it going?

When "bud" is used as a verb or an adjective, it means that something is slowly emerging or starting out.

• The apple trees are budding.
• Tomato plants bud throughout the summer.
• He’s a budding guitarist. (This sentence uses "budding" as an adjective. It means he’s just starting but he shows a lot of potential.)

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This page was first published on May 27, 2012. It was updated on May 2, 2015.