bulb

[ buhlb ]

noun

1. Botany.
   1. a usually subterranean and often globular bud having fleshy leaves emergent at the top and a stem reduced to a flat disk, rooting from the underside, as in the onion and lily.
   2. a plant growing from such a bud.
2. any round, enlarged part, especially at the end of a cylindrical object:

   the bulb of a thermometer.

3. Electricity.
   1. the glass housing, in which a partial vacuum has been established, that contains the filament of an incandescent electric lamp.
   2. an incandescent or fluorescent electric lamp.
4. Anatomy. any of various small, bulb-shaped structures or protuberances:

   olfactory bulb; bulb of urethra.

5. medulla oblongata.
6. Building Trades. a rounded thickening at the toe of an angle iron or tee.
7. Nautical. a cylindrical or spherical prominence at the forefoot of certain vessels.
8. Photography. a shutter setting in which the shutter remains open as long as the shutter release is depressed. : B

bulb

/ bʌlb /

noun

1. a rounded organ of vegetative reproduction in plants such as the tulip and onion: a flattened stem bearing a central shoot surrounded by fleshy nutritive inner leaves and thin brown outer leaves Compare corm
2. a plant, such as a hyacinth or daffodil, that grows from a bulb
3. See light bulb
4. a rounded part of an instrument such as a syringe or thermometer
5. anatomy a rounded expansion of a cylindrical organ or part, such as the medulla oblongata
6. Also calledbulbous bow a bulbous protuberance at the forefoot of a ship to reduce turbulence

bulb

/ bŭlb /

1. A rounded underground storage organ that contains the shoot of a new plant. A bulb consists of a short stem surrounded by fleshy scales (modified leaves) that store nourishment for the new plant. Tulips, lilies, and onions grow from bulbs.
2. Compare corm

Other Words From

• bulbed adjective
• bulbless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bulb¹

1560–70; < Latin bulbus < Greek bolbós onion, bulbous plant

Word History and Origins

Origin of bulb¹

C16: from Latin bulbus , from Greek bolbos onion

Example Sentences

“I noticed that my kids just didn’t differentiate. It was just such a light bulb moment for me. This is how it should be. More exposure to the full spectrum of humanity.”

From Los Angeles Times

“So the final time, I see an older guy sitting in his cell, and a light bulb went in my head,” Tejada said.

From Los Angeles Times

Sometimes, the shapes in “Pluriverse assembly” suggest familiar objects — a simple light bulb, for instance, or a changing typology of ancient Greek vases, like an amphora or an oenochoe jug.

From Los Angeles Times

The bulb suggests enlightenment, while those old clay vessels, sometimes used as grave markers or funerary offerings, lend a spiritual dimension to Eliasson’s luminescent sight.

From Los Angeles Times

But once she read the book that inspired her father’s vegetarianism, John Robbins’ ”Diet for a New America,” “It was like a light bulb went off,” she said, “and this lifestyle became mine.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• corn