buddy
/ˈbʌdi/noun, pronoun, verb, adjective
buddy is spelled B-U-D-D-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,612th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, buddy means “A friend or casual acquaintance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of buddy is buddies.
How many letters and syllables are in buddy?
| Letters | 5: B-U-D-D-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 25 times per million words; the 3,612th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is buddy?
Buddy appears 25 times per million words in written English, the 3,612th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce buddy?
- UK /ˈbʌdi/
- /ˈbʊdi/
- US /ˈbʌdi/
Buddy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-buddy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with buddy?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as buddy from its last stressed vowel (/ʌdi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of buddy
- buddies plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- buddying participle, present
- buddied participle, past
- more buddy comparative
- most buddy superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does buddy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A friend or casual acquaintance.
They have been buddies since they were in school.
- 2
A partner for a particular activity.
drinking buddies
- 3
A workmate assigned to work closely with another.
Near-synonym: butty
- 4
An informal and friendly address to a stranger, usually male; a friendly (or occasionally antagonistic) placeholder name for a person one does not know.
Hey, buddy, I think you dropped this.
pronoun
- 1
A person far removed from the conversation.
I found some earphones in the pocket, buddy must have been pissed.
verb
- 1
To assign a buddy, or partner, to.
adjective
- 1
Resembling a bud.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Buddy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compagnon, pote, copain , camarade |
| German | Kumpel , Kollege |
| Portuguese | companheiro , parceiro , colega |
| Spanish | compañero, acompañante, camarada, cuate, amiguete, parcero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does buddy come from?
First appears c. 1788, in the writings of Charles Dibdin, of uncertain origin. Possibly from *bruddy, *bruthy, a child-talk alteration of brother. Alternatively, perhaps from British colloquial butty (“companion”), also the form of an older dialect term meaning workmate, associated with coal mining. Itself believed derived from 1530 as booty fellow, a partner with whom one shares booty or loot. Alternatively, compare Scots buddo, bodda (“buddy, kiddo, dear”), related to Icelandic budda (“purse"; also "short, stout person”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).