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PlainSpell

bus

/bʌs/noun, verb

bus is spelled B-U-S: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 68 times per million words in written English, the 1,562nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “bus vs buss” about 90 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, bus means “A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bus is buses or busses.

How many letters and syllables are in bus?

Letters3: B-U-S
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing68 times per million words; the 1,562nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Same letters

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); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is bus?

Bus appears 68 times per million words in written English, the 1,562nd 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 bus?

  • /bʌs/
  • /bʊs/
  • /bʌs/

Bus has one syllable (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-Buss.ogg, En-us-bus.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with bus

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

bus vs buss90 G

Sounds like: buss (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: buss.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with bus?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as bus.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: sub.

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 bus

  • buses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • busses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • busing participle, present
  • bussing participle, present
  • bused participle, past
  • bussed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does bus mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.

    I'm on the bus.

  2. 2

    CanadaUSA coach, a bus used for long travels.

  3. 3

    UKdatedAny motorized vehicle, such as a motorbike or car.

  4. 4

    An electrical conductor or interface serving as a common connection for two or more circuits or components.

  5. 5

    Part of a MIRV missile, having on-board motors used to deliver the warhead to a target.

  6. 6

    slangAn ambulance.

  7. 7

    slangAn aeroplane.

  8. 8

    A network topology with each computer connected to a single cable.

verb

  1. 1

    To transport via a motor bus.

  2. 2

    USTo transport students to school, often to a more distant school for the purposes of achieving racial integration.

  3. 3

    To travel by bus.

  4. 4

    USTo clear meal remains from.

    He bussed tables as the restaurant emptied out.

  5. 5

    USTo work at clearing the remains of meals from tables or counters; to work as a busboy.

    He’s been bussing for minimum wage.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Bus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchautobus, bus (vehicle)
GermanBus (vehicle)
Portuguesemachimbombo, ônibus, autocarro, horário (vehicle), barramento (electrical conductor)
Spanishautobús, bus, camión, camioneta, cazadora, chiva (vehicle)

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 bus come from?

Clipping of omnibus. Superseded earlier 'bus, where the apostrophe indicated a clipping. The shift in spelling likely reflects the fact that modern speakers no longer perceive this term as a clipping. The electrical sense is derived from figurative application of the automotive sense.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after bus