- (British English) the part of the body that you sit on
- They've been sitting on their bums all day, doing nothing.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- bare
- feel
- pinch
- sit on
- …
- put bums on seats
- (especially North American English) a person who has no home or job and who asks other people for money or food
- a beach bum (= somebody who spends all their time on the beach, without having a job)
- The city at night intimidated me with the bums and dealers shouting out abuse.
- a lazy person who does nothing for other people or for society
- He's nothing but a no-good bum!
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- lazy
- drunken
- beach
- …
Word Originnoun sense 1 late Middle English: of unknown origin. noun senses 2 to 3 mid 19th cent.: probably from bummer.
Idioms
See bum in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybums on seats
- (British English, informal) used to refer to the number of people who attend a show, talk, etc., especially when emphasizing the need or desire to attract a large number
- They're not bothered about attracting the right audience—they just want bums on seats.
give somebody/get the bum’s rush
- (informal) to force somebody/be forced to leave a place quickly
- He was soon given the bum's rush from the club.
Check pronunciation:
bum