bum

Meanings

Noun

• The buttocks.
• The anus.
• A homeless person, usually a man.
• A lazy, incompetent, or annoying person, usually a man.
• A player or racer who often performs poorly.
• A drinking spree.
• A humming noise.
• A bumbailiff.

Verb

• To sodomize; to engage in anal sex.
• To ask someone to give one (something) for free; to beg for something.
• To stay idle and unproductive, like a hobo or vagabond.
• To wet the end of a marijuana cigarette (spliff).
• To depress; to make unhappy.
• To make a murmuring or humming sound.

Interjection

• An expression of annoyance.

Adjective

• Of poor quality or highly undesirable.
• Unfair.
• Injured and without the possibility of full repair, defective.
• Unpleasant or unhappy.

Origin

• Attested since the 1300s, as Middle English bom Suggested by some old and modern references to be onomatopoeic. Compare also Old Irish, Scottish Gaelic bun ("base, bottom").
• 1864, , from German Bummler ("loafer"), from bummeln.
• See boom.
• Abbreviations.