bundle

[ buhn-dl ]

noun

1. several objects or a quantity of material gathered or bound together:

   a bundle of hay.

2. an item, group, or quantity wrapped for carrying; package.

   Synonyms: packet, pac, parcel

3. a number of things considered together:

   a bundle of ideas.

4. Slang. a great deal of money:

   He made a bundle in the market.

5. Botany. an aggregation of strands of specialized conductive and mechanical tissues.
6. Also called bundle of isoglosses. Dialect Geography. a group of close isoglosses running in approximately the same direction, especially when taken as evidence of an important dialect division.
7. Anatomy, Zoology. an aggregation of fibers, as of nerves or muscles.

verb (used with object)

, bun·dled, bun·dling.

1. to tie together or wrap in a bundle:

   Bundle the newspapers for the trash man.

2. to send away hurriedly or unceremoniously (usually followed by off, out, etc.):

   They bundled her off to the country.

3. to offer or supply (related products or services) in a single transaction at one all-inclusive price.

verb (used without object)

, bun·dled, bun·dling.

1. to leave hurriedly or unceremoniously (usually followed by off, out, etc.):

   They indignantly bundled out of the meeting.

2. (especially of sweethearts during courtship in early New England) to lie in the same bed while fully clothed, as for privacy and warmth in a house where an entire family shared one room with a fireplace.

verb phrase

1. to dress warmly or snugly:

   A blizzard was raging but the children were all bundled up.

bundle

/ ˈbʌndəl /

noun

1. a number of things or a quantity of material gathered or loosely bound together fascicular

   a bundle of sticks

2. something wrapped or tied for carrying; package
3. slang.
   a large sum of money
4. go a bundle on slang.
   to be extremely fond of
5. biology a collection of strands of specialized tissue such as nerve fibres
6. botany short for vascular bundle
7. textiles a measure of yarn or cloth; 60 000 yards of linen yarn; 5 or 10 pounds of cotton hanks
8. drop one's bundle
   1. to panic or give up hope
   2. to give birth

verb

1. troften foll byup to make into a bundle
2. foll byout, off, into etc to go or cause to go, esp roughly or unceremoniously

   we bundled him out of the house

3. trusually foll byinto to push or throw, esp quickly and untidily

   to bundle shirts into a drawer

4. tr to sell (computer hardware and software) as one indivisible package
5. tr to give away (a relatively cheap product) when selling an expensive one to attract business

   several free CDs are often bundled with music centres

6. intr to sleep or lie in one's clothes on the same bed as one's betrothed: formerly a custom in New England, Wales, and elsewhere

Derived Forms

• ˈbundler, noun

Other Words From

• bundler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bundle¹

1350–1400; Middle English bundel < Middle Dutch bundel, bondel; akin to bind

Word History and Origins

Origin of bundle¹

C14: probably from Middle Dutch bundel ; related to Old English bindele bandage; see bind , bond

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. drop one's bundle, Australian and New Zealand Slang. to lose confidence or hope.

More idioms and phrases containing bundle

In addition to the idiom beginning with bundle , also see make a bundle .

Synonym Study

Bundle, bunch refer to a number of things or an amount of something fastened or bound together. Bundle implies a close binding or grouping together, and often refers to a wrapped package: a bundle of laundry, of dry goods. A bunch is a number of things, usually all of the same kind, fastened together: a bunch of roses, of keys.

Related Words

• array
• assortment
• bag
• bale
• batch
• box
• bunch
• carton
• clump
• cluster
• crate
• heap
• package
• packet
• pallet
• parcel
• pile
• quantity
• stack
• wad