What does "omnibus" mean?
A bus (vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads).
Omnibus
/ˈɒmnɪbəs/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A bus (vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads).
- Grammar: omnibus is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: bus, coach, absolute, across the board.
- Useful contrasts: car, disconnected, discrete.
- Usage evidence: An omnibus of Tom Jackson's work will be released on October 20.
How to use "omnibus"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "omnibus" 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 "omnibus" 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 "omnibus" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "omnibus" 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 "omnibus" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang 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 "bus" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "omnibus", 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 A bus (vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads). dated
"In front of the latter [coach-houses for railway carriages] is a handsome building, intended as offices for the clerks of the Company, coach-offices, and apartments for the reception and accommodation of passengers, who will be conveyed thither in omnibusses from Liverpool, and taking their respective places in the travelling carriages, will be let off down the inclined plane of the little Tunnel, to be hooked to the locomotives in the area, on the other side of the hill."
- 2 a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport wordnet
- 3 An anthology of previously released material linked together by theme or author, especially in book form.
"Orb published an omnibus by Hal Clement, Heavy Planet, containing his novels Mission of Gravity and Star Light, plus other related material, and an omnibus of three of James White's "Sector General" novels, Alien Emergencies, as well as a reissue of A[lfred] E[lton] [v]an Vogt's The World of Null-A."
- 4 an anthology of articles on a related subject or an anthology of the works of a single author wordnet
- 5 A broadcast programme consisting of all of the episodes of a serial that have been shown in the previous week.
"The omnibus edition of The Archers is broadcast every Sunday morning at 11.00."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A stamp issue, usually commemorative, that appears simultaneously in several countries as a joint issue.
"[M]any of the African nations issuing the World Cup stamps have pandered to international collectors, with some stamps not even sold in the country of issue. These ‘omnibus’ stamps featured topics and individuals with no links to the issuing country. African stamps displaying Disney themes, Princess Diana, Michael Jackson and Sylvester Stallone all belong to this category."
- 7 An assistant waiter. US, obsolete, slang
"“Then you divide your army amongst the various houses where restorations are ordered for Jubilee day?” / “Certainly—say one waiter to ten guests—if it was a dinner we should send one waiter to six guests—with runners, of course.” / “Runners?” / “Omnibuses you call them here—young ones—apprentices—who wait on the waiters.” / “Run everywhere, do anything?” / “Omnibuses.” / What a number of omnibuses will be running at that big mansion of Sir Julian Goldsmid’s on Tuesday. M. [Venant] Benoist has undertaken to restore—restore! what an admirable word—a thousand famishing ladies and gentlemen on that day."
- 8 an omnibus box
Verb
- 1 To combine (legislative bills, etc.) into a single package. transitive
"In the tax levy measure were omnibused all appropriations for the maintenance of government for the fiscal year."
- 2 To drive an omnibus. dated, intransitive
"I'm two shillings short of usual rainy-day fares, and not a passenger is out, I'm certain—least ways can I see him, if there was. It's nice business, omnibusing is—in summer time!"
- 3 To travel or be transported by omnibus. dated, intransitive
"[W]hat would not be the effect on the goods, and even on the passenger traffic, of the Grand Junction and London and Birmingham lines, if two miles of the rails were to-morrow taken up through the town of Birmingham, so that the first (good) had all to be carted, and the second (passengers) had all to be omnibused, over the breach! Yet, such is the present state of the communication at Manchester!"
Adjective
- 1 Containing multiple items. not-comparable
"The legislature enacted an omnibus appropriations bill."
- 2 Of a transportation service, calling at every station, as opposed to express; local. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 providing for many things at once wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"An omnibus of Tom Jackson's work will be released on October 20."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "omnibus"?
Common synonyms include: bus, coach, absolute, across the board, across-the-board, aggregate.
How do you use "omnibus" in a sentence?
An omnibus of Tom Jackson's work will be released on October 20.
How do you pronounce "omnibus"?
Pronounced /ˈɒmnɪbəs/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French (voiture) omnibus (“(carriage) for all”), from Latin omnibus (“for all”), dative plural of omnis (“all”).