From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbudbud1 /bʌd/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 HBPa young tightly rolled-up flower or leaf before it opens rose budsin bud (=having buds but no flowers yet)come into bud (=start to produce buds)2 FRIENDLY American English spoken buddy Hey, bud, how’s it going? → cotton bud, taste bud, → nip something in the bud at nip1(3)
Examples from the Corpus
bud• Isaak draws no more attention than his anonymous buds.• Use a cotton bud to blend the colours together, so there are no hard lines.• How many plants were needed to furnish the buds for the exhibition vase?• This will promote growth in the buds below your pinch.• With the Prozac I still get the same feeling but it kind of nips it in the bud.• Guideline 18: Try to nip misbehaviour in the bud.• They went to wherever there were cut-down branches, nibbling off the buds.• Everyone looks so brisk in fresh suits of upright postures, so stiff and tense their buds won't open.budbud2 verb (budded, budding) [intransitive] HBPto produce buds→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
bud• Its bright yellow pendulous boughs have begun to bud, and its contours give evidence of a healthy plant.BudBud noun infml a Budweiser (=a type of beer) Hey, would you like a Bud?Origin bud1 1. (1300-1400) Origin unknown. 2. (1800-1900) buddy 