What does "bunting" mean?
Strips of material used as festive decoration, especially in the colours of the national flag.
Bunting
name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Strips of material used as festive decoration, especially in the colours of the national flag.
- Grammar: bunting is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: adorn, and blue, banderole, banner.
- Useful contrasts: power swing, undecorate.
- Usage evidence: I had never seen an indigo bunting until I moved here.
How to use "bunting"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bunting" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bunting" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bunting" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bunting" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bunting" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adorn" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bunting", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Strips of material used as festive decoration, especially in the colours of the national flag. countable, uncountable
- 2 Any of various songbirds of the genus Emberiza, having short bills and brown or gray plumage.
- 3 A warm, often hooded infant garment, as outerwear or sleepwear, similar to a sleeper or sleepsack; especially as baby bunting or bunting bag.
- 4 A pushing action. countable, uncountable
- 5 any of numerous seed-eating songbirds of Europe or North America wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A thin cloth of woven wool from which flags are made; it is light enough to spread in a gentle wind but resistant to fraying in a strong wind. countable, uncountable
- 7 A strong timber; a stout prop. countable, uncountable
- 8 a loosely woven fabric used for flags, etc. wordnet
- 9 Flags considered as a group. countable, uncountable
- 10 An old boys' game, played with sticks and a small piece of wood. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 present participle and gerund of bunt form-of, gerund, participle, present
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname transferred from the nickname.
Antonyms
power swingundecorate
Example
"I had never seen an indigo bunting until I moved here."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bunting"?
Common synonyms include: adorn, and blue, banderole, banner, banneret, banners.
How do you use "bunting" in a sentence?
I had never seen an indigo bunting until I moved here.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Possibly from dialect bunting (“sifting flour”), from Middle English bonten (“to sift”), hence the material used for that purpose. Possibly from Germanic bundt (“to bind or tie together”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English bunting, bountyng, buntynge (also as Middle English buntyle), of uncertain origin. Possibly a reference to speckled plumage, from an unrecorded Middle English *bunt (“spotted, speckled, pied”) akin to Dutch bont, Middle Low German bunt, bont, German bunt (“multi-coloured”) + -ing.
Etymology 3
1922, apparently from Scots buntin (“plump, short and thick (esp. of children)”), itself an old term of endearment for children (1660s); the sense “plump” dates to the 1500s, and may be related to bunt (“belly of a sail”). Possibly related to butt (“(both noun and verb sense: buttocks; strike with head)”) or to bunny (“rabbit”). Compare with the nursery rhyme Bye, baby Bunting (1731), either of same origin or influenced this sense.
Etymology 4
From bunting, a nickname for someone who resembled the songbird.