Illustration of bulb
- 1 hyacinth
- 2 onion
- 3 tulip
- 4 lily
plural bulbs
1
a
: 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
bulblike
adjective
or bulb-like
… a large underground rhizome, a bulblike growth that extends massive roots from its underside.
—
Elizabeth Schneider
Elizabeth Schneider
Examples of bulb in a Sentence
the bulb of the thermometer
Recent Examples on the Web
Use your fingers to separate the bulb offshoots from the mother bulb.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 21 Mar. 2025
While numerous studies show that blue light from computer screens and artificial light produces cutaneous hyperpigmentation (brown spots on the skin) and accelerates the aging process, desktops and fluorescent bulbs seem to only be part of the problem.
—Tanya Akim, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
The bridge’s makeover began in 2021, just before Biden’s bulb ban, when the necklace of lights dotting its swooping cables—mercury-vapor bulbs—was replaced with L.E.D.s.
—Diego Lasarte, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Allium Also called ornamental onions, alliums grow from bulbs that multiply each year.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bulb
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Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 21 Mar. 2025
While numerous studies show that blue light from computer screens and artificial light produces cutaneous hyperpigmentation (brown spots on the skin) and accelerates the aging process, desktops and fluorescent bulbs seem to only be part of the problem.
—Tanya Akim, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
The bridge’s makeover began in 2021, just before Biden’s bulb ban, when the necklace of lights dotting its swooping cables—mercury-vapor bulbs—was replaced with L.E.D.s.
—Diego Lasarte, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
Allium Also called ornamental onions, alliums grow from bulbs that multiply each year.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bulb
Cite this Entry
“Bulb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bulb. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bulb
noun1
a
: 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
a flashlight bulb
Medical Definition
bulb
noun1
: a rounded dilation or expansion of something cylindrical
the bulb of a thermometer
especially
: a rounded or pear-shaped enlargement on a small base
the bulb of an eyedropper
2
: a rounded part: as
a
: a rounded enlargement of one end of a part see bulb of the penis, bulb of the vestibule, end bulb, hair bulb, olfactory bulb
b
: medulla oblongata
broadly
: the hindbrain exclusive of the cerebellum
c
: a thick-walled muscular enlargement of the pharynx of certain nematode worms
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