: a resting stage of a plant (such as the lily, onion, hyacinth, or tulip) that is usually formed underground and consists of a short stem base bearing one or more buds enclosed in overlapping membranous or fleshy leaves
b
: a fleshy structure (such as a tuber or corm) resembling a bulb in appearance
c
: a plant having or developing from a bulb
2
: a bulb-shaped part
specifically: a glass envelope enclosing the light source of an electric lamp or such an envelope together with the light source it encloses
3
: a rounded or swollen anatomical structure
4
: a camera setting that indicates that the shutter can be opened by pressing on the release and closed by ending the pressure
… a large underground rhizome, a bulblike growth that extends massive roots from its underside. —Elizabeth Schneider
Illustration of bulb
1 hyacinth
2 onion
3 tulip
4 lily
Examples of bulb in a Sentence
the bulb of the thermometer
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The bulbs are shatterproof, solar-powered and easy to use.—Nora Colomer, FOXNews.com, 31 Mar. 2025 In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, some city streetlights took on a blueish-purple tint the same year, as did bulbs in the village of Schaumburg, Illinois and Palm Beach, Florida.—Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2025 For most Southern gardeners, April brings a floral showcase of bulbs, perennials, shrubs, and trees.—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 27 Mar. 2025 Theirs sits on the ground, just bare bulbs screwed into the ends of copper piping strung with wires, powering through a wondrous cycle of dimming and illumination, conjuring electricity’s arrival to the Marble Palace long ago.—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for bulb
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin bulbus, from Greek bolbos bulbous plant
: an underground resting stage of a plant (as an onion or tulip) consisting of a short stem base bearing one or more buds enclosed in overlapping leaves
b
: a fleshy structure (as a tuber or corm) resembling a bulb in appearance or function
2
: a rounded object or part shaped more or less like a bulb
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