What does bus mean?
A bus is a large motor vehicle designed to carry many passengers at once, most familiarly as part of a city's public transportation network, where buses run along fixed routes on regular schedules. The word also functions as a verb meaning to convey people by bus — schools, for example, may bus students across district lines — and, in informal American usage, to clear dirty dishes in restaurants. Remarkably, "bus" is simply a shortened form of "omnibus," a nineteenth-century coinage taken from the Latin phrase meaning "for all," which captures the vehicle's founding purpose: affordable shared travel open to everyone. Buses carry connotations of everyday routine, commuting, and budget travel, appearing constantly in idioms such as catching, missing, or waiting for the bus. It is one of the most practical and frequently used words in modern English.
A large road vehicle designed to carry numerous passengers along a fixed route, usually for public transport.
"We took the bus into the city centre."
In British English, "bus" typically denotes local urban services, with "coach" used for longer-distance travel.
To transport someone by bus, or (informal, chiefly North American) to clear away dirty dishes in a restaurant.
"The school buses children from outlying farms."
Past tense is usually "bused"; "bussed" is a less common variant.
The standard plural is "buses"; the variant "busses" is widely considered nonstandard for the vehicle sense, though it survives for the archaic kissing sense.
"Three double-decker buses waited at the terminus."
"Bus" isn't short for anything modern — it's clipped from "omnibus," the Latin for "for all," which is exactly what it was built to be.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bus
"Bus" originated as a clipping of "omnibus," a term adopted in the early nineteenth century for horse-drawn vehicles carrying multiple paying passengers, first popularized in Paris and London. "Omnibus" derives from Latin, literally meaning "for all," and shares its root with words such as "omniscient" and "omnipotent." As motor vehicles replaced horse-drawn ones, the clipped form became standard in both British and American English.
Related word forms
How bus is actually used
The verb "bus" meaning to clear dishes is informal and chiefly North American; its past tense may be written "bused" or (less commonly) "bussed." In British English, "coach" often covers longer-distance services while "bus" implies local routes.
Easily confused with bus
"Buss" means to kiss, while "bus" refers to the passenger vehicle or the act of transporting/clearing dishes.