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buzz

/bʌz/noun, verb

buzz is spelled B-U-Z-Z: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Buzz, the name). As a noun, buzz means “A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of buzz is buzzes.

How many letters and syllables are in buzz?

Letters4: B-U-Z-Z
Syllables1
In writing11 times per million words; the 6,565th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is buzz?

Buzz appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,565th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Buzz, the name.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce buzz?

  • /bʌz/
  • /bʊz/

Buzz has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-buzz.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of buzz

  • buzzes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • buzzing participle, present
  • buzzed participle, past

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

What does buzz mean?

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

noun

  1. 1

    A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones.

  2. 2

    A whisper.

  3. 3

    The audible friction of voiced consonants.

  4. 4

    informalA rush or feeling of energy or excitement; a feeling of slight intoxication.

    Still feeling the buzz from the coffee, he pushed through the last of the homework.

  5. 5

    informalA telephone call or e-mail.

  6. 6

    informalMajor topic of conversation; widespread rumor; information spread behind the scenes.

    Allen Gregory DeLongpre: Who's he? Patrick: He's only the most popular kid in school. Allen Gregory: Ah, the two heavyweights finally meet. Sure you're tired of all the buzz. Allen Gregory DeLongpre.

  7. 7

    Synonym of fizz-buzz (“counting game”).

verb

  1. 1

    To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings.

  2. 2

    To utter a murmuring sound; to speak with a low, humming voice.

  3. 3

    Of a group of people, to talk about some interesting topic excitedly.

  4. 4

    To fly while making such a sound.

    A fly was buzzing past me.

  5. 5

    colloquialTo show a high level of activity and haste, energization or excitement, to be busy as a bee in one’s actions but perhaps mentally charged.

    The room was buzzing with excitement.

  6. 6

    To whisper; to communicate, as tales, in an undertone; to spread, as a report, by whispers or secretly.

  7. 7

    To talk to incessantly or confidentially in a low humming voice.

  8. 8

    To fly at high speed and at a very low altitude over (an area), as to make a surprise pass.

    buzzing around in small cars that dodged through traffic

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

Buzz in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanSummen, Brummen, Gemurmel, Raunen (continuous humming noise), Surren, Rollen (audible friction of voice consonants)
Portuguesezumbido (continuous humming noise), ligação (informal: telephone call), zumbir, zunir (to make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant…)
Spanishzumbido, zurrido (continuous humming noise), zumbar (to make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant…), entusiasmo, interés (rush of feeling of energy or excitement), suspiro (information spread behind the scenes)
Frenchcoup de fil (informal: telephone call), bourdonner (to make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant…), raser (aviation: to fly at high speed and at a low…), tondre (to cut the hair in a close-cropped style)

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 buzz come from?

From Middle English *bussen (suggested by Middle English bussyng (“buzzing”)), of onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Scots bizz (“to buzz”). Compare Middle English bunning (“buzzing”), Middle English hossing (“buzzing”), Middle English bissen (“to hush”).

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

What to look up after buzz