Buzz

//bʌz// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A male given name, pet form of Busby
Noun
  1. 1
    A continuous humming noise, as of bees; a confused murmur, as of general conversation in low tones. countable, uncountable

    "In the steady buzz of flies the homeward-bound agent was lying flushed and insensible[.]"

  2. 2
    a confusion of activity and gossip wordnet
  3. 3
    A whisper. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    sound of rapid vibration wordnet
  5. 5
    The audible friction of voiced consonants. countable, uncountable
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    A rush or feeling of energy or excitement; a feeling of slight intoxication. countable, informal, uncountable

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

  2. 7
    A telephone call or e-mail. countable, informal, uncountable

    "Now, don't waste time, give us a buzz -- quick! 825-4703 or 265-7881."

  3. 8
    Major topic of conversation; widespread rumor; information spread behind the scenes. countable, informal, uncountable

    "Mr. Hall? The buzz on Christian is that his parents have joint custody, so he'll be spending one semester in Chicago and one semester here."

  4. 9
    Synonym of fizz-buzz (“counting game”). uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings. intransitive

    "Ah! the singing, fatal arrow, / Like a wasp it buzzed, and stung him [a roebuck]!"

  2. 2
    call with a buzzer wordnet
  3. 3
    To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings.; To utter a murmuring sound; to speak with a low, humming voice. broadly, intransitive

    "However these disturbers of our peace / Buzz in the people's ears."

  4. 4
    fly low wordnet
  5. 5
    To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings.; Of a group of people, to talk about some interesting topic excitedly. intransitive

    "But I tell you this has set all London buzzing. The old man is where he likes to be, with a pin-point limelight right on his hairy old head."

Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    make a buzzing sound wordnet
  2. 7
    To make a low, continuous, humming or sibilant sound, like that made by bees with their wings.; To fly while making such a sound. intransitive

    "A fly was buzzing past me."

  3. 8
    be noisy with activity wordnet
  4. 9
    To 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. colloquial
  5. 10
    To whisper; to communicate, as tales, in an undertone; to spread, as a report, by whispers or secretly. transitive

    "I will buzz abroad such prophecies / That Edward shall be fearful of his life."

  6. 11
    To talk to incessantly or confidentially in a low humming voice. transitive
  7. 12
    To fly at high speed and at a very low altitude over (an area), as to make a surprise pass. also, figuratively, transitive

    "[…] an asteroid a mere 15-20 metres across exploded with the force of a medium-sized atom bomb over Chelyabinsk, in Russia, and another, much larger one buzzed Earth a few hours later."

  8. 13
    To cut (the hair) in a close-cropped military style, or buzzcut. transitive

    "Deacon said, “You used to beg me to let you buzz your hair when you were little.” “And then I grew up and realized how awful you looked when you buzzed yours.”"

  9. 14
    To throw swiftly. transitive

    "I have mentioned her deft hand with a stone — well, as soon as our backs were turned she buzzed a stone to clip Joe's ear."

  10. 15
    To drink to the bottom. archaic, transitive

    "He buzzed the bottle with such a hearty good will as settled the fate of another, which Soapey rang for as a matter of course. There was but the rejected one, which however Spigot put into a different decanter and brought in […]"

  11. 16
    To communicate with (a person) by means of a buzzer. transitive

    "Then one day my secretary buzzed me and said Frank Sinatra was on the phone. When I picked up the phone it was the Chief who played dumb and would not admit that he said he was Frank Sinatra."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

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”).

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