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Synonyms

bun

1 American  
[buhn] / bʌn /

noun

  1. any of a wide variety of variously shaped bread rolls, usually leavened and slightly sweetened or plain, sometimes containing spices, dried currants, etc.

  2. hair gathered into a round coil or knot at the nape of the neck or on top of the head in certain coiffures.

  3. Slang. buns, the buttocks.

bun 2 American  
[buhn] / bʌn /

idioms

  1. have a bun on, to be intoxicated.

    Everyone at the party seemed to have a bun on.
BUN 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. blood urea nitrogen: the concentration of nitrogen in the blood in the form of urea, indicating kidney function.

bun British  
/ bʌn /

noun

  1. a small roll, similar to bread but usually containing sweetening, currants, spices, etc

  2. any of various types of small round sweet cakes

  3. a hairstyle in which long hair is gathered into a bun shape at the back of the head

  4. slang to be pregnant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bun1

1325–75; Middle English bunne, possibly of Romance origin; buñuelo ( def. )

Origin of bun2

First recorded in 1900–05; of uncertain origin

Origin of BUN3

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The teen is wearing black glasses and braided hair styled in a bun with blue highlights.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Undo the tight, slicked back bun and bring in halo dyed hair, dark eyeliner and the piercing she did herself on the inside of her upper lip.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 2026

She spoke softly with her blonde hair tied back in a bun while her lawyers asked that she be given proper medical treatment, including an xray of potentially bruised ribs and a fracture.

From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026

The Xus offered the mayor a pineapple bun.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2025

Isabella frowns, fists her hair together, and wraps it up into a big sloppy bun.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.