bus1

[buhs] /bʌs/
noun, plural buses, busses.
1.
a large motor vehicle, having a long body, equipped with seats or benches for passengers, usually operating as part of a scheduled service; omnibus.
2.
a similar horse-drawn vehicle.
3.
a passenger automobile or airplane used in a manner resembling that of a bus.
4.
any vehicle operated to transport children to school.
5.
a low, movable filing cabinet.
6.
Electricity. Also called bus bar, busbar
[buhs-bahr] /ˈbʌsˌbɑr/ (Show IPA). a heavy conductor, often made of copper in the shape of a bar, used to collect, carry, and distribute powerful electric currents, as those produced by generators.
7.
Computers. a circuit that connects the CPU with other devices in a computer.
verb (used with object), bused or bussed, busing or bussing.
8.
to convey or transport by bus:
to bus the tourists to another hotel.
9.
to transport (pupils) to school by bus, especially as a means of achieving racial integration.
verb (used without object), bused or bussed, busing or bussing.
10.
to travel on or by means of a bus:
We bused to New York on a theater trip.
Idioms
11.
throw under the bus. throw (def 57).
Origin
1825-35; short for omnibus; (def 6) short for omnibus bar
Can be confused
bussed, bust.

buss

[buhs] /bʌs/
noun, verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
1.
kiss.
Origin
1560-70; perhaps blend of obsolete bass kiss and obsolete cuss kiss (cognate with German Kuss; replacing Middle English, Old English coss (cognate with Old Norse koss))
Can be confused
bus, buss.

bus2

[buhs] /bʌs/
verb (used without object), verb (used with object), bused or bussed, busing or bussing.
1.
to work or act as a busboy or busgirl:
She bused for her meals during her student days.
Origin
1830-40; back formation from busboy
British Dictionary definitions for bussing

bus

/bʌs/
noun (pl) buses, busses
1.
a large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers between stopping places along a regular route More formal name omnibus Sometimes called motorbus
2.
short for trolleybus
3.
(modifier) of or relating to a bus or buses: a bus driver, a bus station
4.
(informal) a car or aircraft, esp one that is old and shaky
5.
(electronics, computing) short for busbar
6.
the part of a MIRV missile payload containing the re-entry vehicles and guidance and thrust devices
7.
(astronautics) a platform in a space vehicle used for various experiments and processes
8.
miss the bus, to miss an opportunity; be too late
verb buses, busing, bused, busses, bussing, bussed
9.
to travel or transport by bus
10.
(mainly US & Canadian) to transport (children) by bus from one area to a school in another in order to create racially integrated classes
Word Origin
C19: short for omnibus

buss

/bʌs/
noun, verb
1.
an archaic or dialect word for kiss
Word Origin
C16: probably of imitative origin; compare French baiser, German dialect Bussi little kiss

Buss

/bʌs/
noun
1.
Frances Mary. 1827–94, British educationalist; a pioneer of secondary education for girls, who campaigned for women's admission to university
Word Origin and History for bussing
n.

"kissing," 1888, verbal noun from buss (v.).

bus

n.

1832, abbreviation of omnibus (q.v.). The modern English noun is nothing but a Latin dative plural ending. To miss the bus, in the figurative sense of "lose an opportunity," is from 1901, Australian English (OED has a figurative miss the omnibus from 1886). Busman's holiday "leisure time spent doing what one does for a living" (1893) is probably a reference to London bus drivers riding the buses on their days off.

v.

1838, "to travel by omnibus," from bus (n.). Transitive meaning "transport students to integrate schools" is from 1961, American English. Meaning "clear tables in a restaurant" is first attested 1913, probably from the four-wheeled cart used to carry dishes. Related: Bused; busing.

buss

n.

"a kiss," 1560s; probably of imitative origin, as are Welsh and Gaelic bus "kiss, lip," French baiser "kiss" (12c., from Latin basiare), Spanish buz, German dialectal Buss.

v.

1570s, from buss (n.). Related: Bussed; bussing.

Kissing and bussing differ both in this,
We busse our wantons, but our wives we kisse.
[Robert Herrick, "Hesperides," 1648]

Slang definitions & phrases for bussing

bus

noun
  1. A car: Whose old bus is in the drive? (1919+)
  2. An aircraft (1916+)
  3. An ambulance: Roger oneoh-four, do we need a bus? (1980s+ Police)
verb

To clear dirty dishes and tableware from the tables in a restaurant or cafeteria (1913+)

Related Terms

jitney, miss the bus, rubberneck wagon

[the restaurant sense probably fr the four-wheeled cart often used to carry dishes]


buss

verb

To talk about; gossip over: Quit bussin' about my shoes

[1980s+ Teenagers; perhaps a survival of British dialect buss, ''mutter, murmur busily, buzz,'' attested from the 1500s]