She wears her hair in a bun.
Source: tatoeba (316183)
Bun
/bʌn/
Synonyms for "bun" (60 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (12)
Strong matches (18)
Related words (30)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: roll, bagel, beginner, bialy, bialystoker.
- Sentence evidence is available for bun, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "bun".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "bun"
Keep "bun" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "bun" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "bun", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "bun" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
6 entriesMore specific
9 entriescinnamon bunclassic bunhamburger bunhot cross bunlow bunmessy bunsteam bunsticky buntop knot
Collocations
10 entriesbread bunbrioche buncinnamon bunhair bunhamburger bunhot cross bunpretzel bunsesame bunsteam bunsticky bun
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
3 entriesTranslations
121 translations across 59 languages.
Afrikaans
2 entries- bolletjie noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- broodrolletjie noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Albanian
1 entries- simite noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Arabic
2 entries- كحكة noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- كَعْكَة noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Armenian
1 entries- բուլկի noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Azerbaijani
3 entries- bulka noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- kökə noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- qoğal noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Basque
1 entries- opil noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Belarusian
3 entries- бу́лачка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- бу́лка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- са́йка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Bulgarian
2 entries- ки́фла noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- сими́д noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Catalan
4 entries- brioix noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- llesca noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- panellet noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- pasta noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Chinese
3 entries- бозы noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- 包仔 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- 麭 /𮮆 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 包子 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- 小圓麵包 /小圆面包 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- 小麵包 /小面包 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- 饃 /馍 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Cornish
1 entries- torthell noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Czech
1 entries- žemle noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Dalmatian
2 entries- pizaraul noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- pizariaul noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Danish
1 entries- bolle noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Dutch
3 entries- bol noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- bolletje noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- broodje noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Esperanto
1 entries- bulko noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Estonian
1 entries- kukkel noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Faroese
1 entries- bolli noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Finnish
1 entries- pulla noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
French
1 entries- petit pain noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Galician
4 entries- bolo noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- cornecho noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- penla noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- petada noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Georgian
1 entries- ფუნთუშა noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
German
4 entries- Brötchen noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- Hefestück noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- Semmel noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- Teilchen noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Hebrew
1 entries- לחמנייה \ לַחְמָנִיָּה noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Hindi
2 entries- छोटी मीठी ब्रेड noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- रोटी noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Hungarian
1 entries- zsemle noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Icelandic
1 entries- bolla noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Irish
2 entries- borróg noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- pocaid noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Italian
4 entries- michetta noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- pagnotta noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- panino noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- rosetta noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Japanese
2 entries- バン noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- ロールパン noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Korean
2 entries- 롤빵 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- 흰 빵 noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Latvian
2 entries- bulciņa noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- maizīte noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Lithuanian
2 entries- bandelė noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- ragelis noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Macedonian
2 entries- земичка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- лепче noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Manx
2 entries- bonnag noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- bunnag noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Navajo
2 entries- bááh nímazí noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- bááh nímazí ʼałtsʼáálgizhígíí noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Norman
1 entries- ban'se noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- bolle noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- bolle noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- چورك noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Persian
2 entries- بولکی noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- گرده noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Polish
3 entries- bułka noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- drożdżówka noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- kołaczyk noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Portuguese
1 entries- pãozinho (doce) noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Romanian
1 entries- chiflă noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Russian
4 entries- бу́лка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- бу́лочка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- плю́шка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- са́йка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Scottish Gaelic
1 entries- bonnach noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- zèmička noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- žèmička noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- žȅmlja noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- же̏мља noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Silesian
1 entries- żymła noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Slovak
1 entries- žemľa noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Slovene
2 entries- žemlja noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- žemljica noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Spanish
4 entries- bolillo noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- bolla noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- bollo noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- gallofa noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Swedish
1 entries- bulle noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Tamil
1 entries- பொங்கியப்பம் noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Tatar
1 entries- күмәч noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Turkish
2 entries- hamburger ekmeği noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- çörek noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Ukrainian
3 entries- бу́лка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- бу́лочка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- са́йка noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Volapük
1 entries- bodül noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Yiddish
2 entries- בולקע noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
- זעמל noun (a small bread roll, often sweetened or spiced)
Sample sentences
23 total sentences available.
The next day at the newspaper office he drew a bun which contained a dachshund inside - not a dachshund sausage, but a dachshund.
Source: tatoeba (324974)
Is this supposed to be a currant bun? You almost need to cycle from one currant to another, so few are there.
Source: tatoeba (393846)
He decided that his kielbasa was too dignified for an ordinary bun.
Source: tatoeba (697857)
Showing 4 of 23 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "bun"?
Closest matches include roll, bagel, beginner, bialy, bialystoker.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "bun"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.