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bull

/bʊl/

/bʊl/

Other forms: bulls; bulling; bulled

A bull is a male cow. You can usually tell which animal in a pasture is a bull by its large size and horns.

A male bovine — or cow — is a bull, and so is a male whale or elephant. Fittingly, the word bull is sometimes also used for a particularly bulky, muscular man. Another informal and slightly obscene meaning is "ridiculous," or "not true," as when you tell a lie and your brother rudely replies, "Bull!" This slang meaning has its roots in the Old French bole, "deception or trick."

Definitions of bull
  1. noun
    uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
    see moresee less
    types:
    bullock
    young bull
    type of:
    Bos taurus, cattle, cows, kine, oxen
    domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
  2. noun
    mature male of various mammals of which the female is called `cow'; e.g. whales or elephants or especially cattle
    see moresee less
    type of:
    eutherian, eutherian mammal, placental, placental mammal
    mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials
  3. verb
    push or force
    “He bulled through his demands”
    synonyms: bull through
    see moresee less
    type of:
    bear on, push
    press, drive, or impel (someone) to action or completion of an action
  4. noun
    a large and strong and heavyset man
    “he was a bull of a man”
    synonyms: Samson, bruiser, strapper
    see moresee less
    type of:
    adult male, man
    an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
  5. noun
    uncomplimentary terms for a policeman
    synonyms: cop, copper, fuzz, pig
    see moresee less
    type of:
    officer, police officer, policeman
    a member of a police force
  6. noun
    obscene words for unacceptable behavior
    “what he said was mostly bull
    see moresee less
    type of:
    buncombe, bunk, bunkum, guff, hogwash, rot
    unacceptable behavior (especially ludicrously false statements)
  7. verb
    speak insincerely or without regard for facts or truths
    synonyms: fake, talk through one's hat
    see moresee less
    type of:
    affect, dissemble, feign, pretend, sham
    make believe with the intent to deceive
  8. noun
    a serious and ludicrous blunder
    “he made a bad bull of the assignment”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    bloomer, blooper, blunder, boo-boo, botch, bungle, flub, foul-up, pratfall
    an embarrassing mistake
  9. noun
    an investor with an optimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to rise and so buys now for resale later
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    bear
    an investor with a pessimistic market outlook; an investor who expects prices to fall and so sells now in order to buy later at a lower price
    type of:
    investor
    someone who commits capital in order to gain financial returns
  10. verb
    try to raise the price of stocks through speculative buying
    see moresee less
    type of:
    job, speculate
    invest at a risk
  11. verb
    advance in price
    “stocks were bulling
    see moresee less
    type of:
    climb, go up, rise
    increase in value or to a higher point
  12. noun
    the center of a target
    synonyms: bull's eye
    see moresee less
    type of:
    center, centre, midpoint
    a point equidistant from the ends of a line or the extremities of a figure
  13. noun
    a formal proclamation issued by the pope (usually written in antiquated characters and sealed with a leaden bulla)
    synonyms: papal bull
    see moresee less
    type of:
    decree, edict, fiat, order, rescript
    a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge)
Pronunciation
US

/bʊl/

UK

/bʊl/

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