“bulbs” is a form of
bulb
/ˈbʌlb/ noun, verb
Forms bulbs bulbing bulbed
- noun The bulb-shaped underground portion of a plant such as a tulip, consisting of a shortened stem and many fleshy scale leaves, from which the rest of the plant may be regrown.
- noun (dated, neuroanatomy) The medulla oblongata.
- noun Any solid object rounded at one end and tapering on the other, possibly attached to a larger object at the tapered end. “the bulb of the aorta”
- noun A light bulb (not necessarily bulbous in shape). “an incandescent bulb”
- noun (nautical) A bulbous protuberance at the forefoot of certain vessels to reduce turbulence.
- noun (obsolete) An onion.
- verb (intransitive) To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.
Synonyms
light bulb lightbulb incandescent lamp electric light electric-light bulb medulla oblongata medulla
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English bulb, bolbe, from Latin bulbus (“bulb, onion”), from Ancient Greek βολβός (bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. It differs from a corm in not being solid.
- noun A name given to some parts that resemble in shape certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta. Bulb of the eye, the eyeball.
- verb To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.
Etymology [L. bulbus, Gr. bulbe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “bulb”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details