bush

[ boo sh ]

/ bʊʃ /

noun

a low plant with many branches that arise from or near the ground.

a small cluster of shrubs appearing as a single plant.

something resembling or suggesting this, as a thick, shaggy head of hair.

Also called bush lot. Canadian. a small, wooded lot, especially a farm lot with trees left standing to provide firewood, fence posts, etc.

the tail of a fox; brush.

Geography. a stretch of uncultivated land covered with mixed plant growth, bushy vegetation, trees, etc.

a large uncleared area thickly covered with mixed plant growth, trees, etc., as a jungle.

a large, sparsely populated area most of which is uncleared, as areas of Australia and Alaska.

a tree branch hung as a sign before a tavern or vintner's shop.

any tavern sign.

Slang: Vulgar. pubic hair.

Archaic. a wineshop.

verb (used without object)

to be or become bushy; branch or spread as or like a bush.

verb (used with object)

to cover, protect, support, or mark with a bush or bushes.

adjective

bush-league.

Idioms for bush

beat around/about the bush, to avoid coming to the point; delay in approaching a subject directly: Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want.

beat the bushes, to scout or search for persons or things far and wide: beating the bushes for engineers.

go bush, Australian.

to flee or escape into the bush.
Slang. to become wild.

Origin of bush

before 1000; Middle English busshe, Old English busc (in place-names); cognate with Dutch bos wood, German Busch, Old Norse buskr bush

OTHER WORDS FROM bush

bush·less, adjective bush·like, adjective

Words nearby bush

busch, buschke-löwenstein tumor, buschke-ollendorf syndrome, busera, busgirl, bush, bush baby, bush ballad, bush basil, bush bean, bush broom

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (1 of 3)

Bush

/ (bʊʃ) /

noun

George . born 1924, US Republican politician; vice president of the US (1981–89): 41st president of the US (1989–93)

his son, George W (alker). born 1946, US Republican politician; 43rd president of the US (2001–09)

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (2 of 3)

bush ¹

/ (bʊʃ) /

noun

a dense woody plant, smaller than a tree, with many branches arising from the lower part of the stem; shrub

a dense cluster of such shrubs; thicket

something resembling a bush, esp in density a bush of hair

the bush an uncultivated or sparsely settled area, esp in Africa, Australia, New Zealand, or Canada: usually covered with trees or shrubs, varying from open shrubby country to dense rainforest
(as modifier)bush flies

Canadian an area of land on a farm on which timber is grown and cut Also called: bush lot, woodlot

a forested area; woodland

the bush informal the countryside, as opposed to the city out in the bush

a fox's tail; brush

obsolete

a bunch of ivy hung as a vintner's sign in front of a tavern
any tavern sign

beat about the bush to avoid the point at issue; prevaricate

adjective

Australian and NZ informal rough-and-ready

Western African informal ignorant or stupid, esp as considered typical of unwesternized rustic life

US and Canadian informal unprofessional, unpolished, or second-rate

go bush informal, Australian and NZ

to abandon city amenities and live rough
to run wild

verb

(intr) to grow thick and bushy

(tr) to cover, decorate, support, etc, with bushes

bush it (tr) Australian to camp out in the bush

Word Origin for bush

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse buski, Old High German busc, Middle Dutch bosch; related to Old French bosc wood, Italian bosco

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (3 of 3)

bush ²

/ (bʊʃ) /

noun

Also called (esp US and Canadian): bushing a thin metal sleeve or tubular lining serving as a bearing or guide

verb

to fit a bush to (a casing, bearing, etc)

Word Origin for bush

C15: from Middle Dutch busse box, bush; related to German Büchse tin, Swedish hjulbōssa wheel-box, Late Latin buxis box 1

Cultural definitions for beat around the bush

beat around the bush

To avoid getting to the point of an issue: “Your worries have nothing to do with the new proposal. Stop beating around the bush, and cast your vote!”

Idioms and Phrases with beat around the bush (1 of 2)

beat around the bush

Also, beat about the bush. Approach indirectly, in a roundabout way, or too cautiously. For example, Stop beating around the bush—get to the point. This term, first recorded in 1572, originally may have alluded to beating the bushes for game.

Idioms and Phrases with beat around the bush (2 of 2)

bush

see beat around the bush; beat the bushes for; bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bush

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

adjective

Idioms for bush

Origin of bush

OTHER WORDS FROM bush

Words nearby bush

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (1 of 3)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (2 of 3)

noun

adjective

verb

Word Origin for bush

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (3 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for bush

Cultural definitions for beat around the bush

Idioms and Phrases with beat around the bush (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with beat around the bush (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

bush

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

adjective

Idioms for bush

Origin of bush

OTHER WORDS FROM bush

Words nearby bush

Words related to beat around the bush

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noun

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (2 of 3)

noun

adjective

verb

Word Origin for bush

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (3 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for bush

Cultural definitions for beat around the bush

Idioms and Phrases with beat around the bush (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with beat around the bush (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for beat around the bush (1 of 3)