bud¹ (bŭd)
n.

1. Botany.
   1. A small protuberance on a stem or branch, sometimes enclosed in protective scales and containing an undeveloped shoot, leaf, or flower.
   2. The stage or condition of having buds: branches in full bud.
2. Biology.
   1. An asexual reproductive structure, as in yeast or a hydra, that consists of an outgrowth capable of developing into a new individual.
   2. A small, rounded organic part, such as a taste bud, that resembles a plant bud.
3. One that is not yet fully developed: the bud of a new idea.

v., bud·ded, bud·ding, buds.

v.intr.

1. To put forth or produce buds: a plant that buds in early spring.
2. To develop or grow from or as if from a bud: "listened sympathetically for a moment, a bemused smile budding forth" (Washington Post).
3. To be in an undeveloped stage or condition.
4. To reproduce asexually by forming a bud.

v.tr.

1. To cause to put forth buds.
2. To graft a bud onto (a plant).

[Middle English budde.]

budder bud'der n.

bud² (bŭd)
n. Informal
Friend; chum. Used as a form of familiar address, especially for a man or boy: Move along, bud.

[Short for BUDDY.]

---

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

---