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Definition of "bum" []

  • A tramp; a vagrant. (noun)
  • A lazy or shiftless person, especially one who seeks to live solely by the support of others. (noun)
  • An incompetent, insignificant, or obnoxious person: The batter called the pitcher a bum. (noun)
  • One who is devoted to a particular activity or milieu: a beach bum. (noun)
  • To live by begging and scavenging from place to place. Often used with around. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "bum" in a sentence
  • "For example, in 1997 my friend (and then coworker) Ross Raihala was interviewing Art Linkletter, and Linkletter became upset when Ross used the terms hobo and bum interchangeably (apparently, Linkletter had worked as a hobo in his twenties and found the word bum to be mildly offensive)."
  • "“Barry called me Bubble Lips, and said my bum is the size of Texas.”"
  • "This bum is about the sleaziest piece of scum that has ever achieved the level of a senator in my lifetime."