bulb

A2 Topic:Gardening & Horticulture

US /ˈbʌlb/ See IPA manual

Freq #9500

Meanings

1

noun
The glass part of an electric lamp that gives out light

The bulb in the hallway has burned out and needs replacing.
2

noun
The round underground part of some plants, from which the plant grows

We planted tulip bulbs in the garden last autumn.
3

noun
The rounded part at the end of a tube or instrument

You squeeze the rubber bulb of the syringe to push the liquid out.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the glass part of an... light bulblightbulb

Word family

Forms bulbousbulbs

Derived forms bulb-outbulbarbulbectomybulbheadbulbheadedbulbitisbulblessbulbletbulblikebulboidbulbophilebulby

Related forms bulbiferousbulbilbulbous

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

olfactory bulb
one of the paired brain structures connected with the sense of smell

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós)bor. Latin bulbusder. English bulb Inherited from Middle English bulb, bolbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”).

bulb Middle English bulbus Latin βολβός Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Gardening & Horticulture General Vocabulary

External links

# bulb

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbʌlb/
**Frequency rank:** 9500

## Meanings
1. The glass part of an electric lamp that gives out light
2. The round underground part of some plants, from which the plant grows
3. The rounded part at the end of a tube or instrument

## Examples
- The bulb in the hallway has burned out and needs replacing.
- We planted tulip bulbs in the garden last autumn.
- You squeeze the rubber bulb of the syringe to push the liquid out.

## Derived Forms
- bulb-out
- bulbar
- bulbectomy
- bulbhead
- bulbheaded
- bulbitis
- bulbless
- bulblet
- bulblike
- bulboid
- bulbophile
- bulby

## Related Forms
- bulbiferous
- bulbil
- bulbous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bulb
- Root: bulbus
- Root: βολβός

## Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós)bor. Latin bulbusder. English bulb Inherited from Middle English bulb, bolbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”).

## AI Etymology
Bulb is inherited from Middle English bulb, bolbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”). Bulb follows a historical chain through Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós), Latin bulbus, English bulb.

## Topics
- Gardening & Horticulture
- General Vocabulary

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