I. ˈbu̇sh noun
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English; akin to Old High German busc forest
Date: 14th century
1.
a. : shrub ; especially : a low densely branched shrub
b. : a close thicket of shrubs suggesting a single plant
2. : a large uncleared or sparsely settled area (as in Australia) usually scrub-covered or forested : wilderness — usually used with the
3.
a. archaic : a bunch of ivy formerly hung outside a tavern to indicate wine for sale
b. obsolete : tavern
c. : advertising
good wine needs no bush — Shakespeare
4. : a bushy tuft or mass
a bush of hair
especially : brush II,2a
5. : minor league — usually used in plural
spent ten years in the bush es
II. verb
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
: to support, mark, or protect with bushes
intransitive verb
: to extend like a bush : resemble a bush
III. adjective
Date: 1595
1. : having a low-growing compact bushy habit — used especially of cultivated beans
bush snap beans
2. : serving, occurring in, or used in the bush
bush planes
IV. noun
Etymology: Dutch bus bushing, box, from Middle Dutch busse box, from Late Latin buxis — more at box
Date: 1566
chiefly British : bushing
V. adjective
Etymology: short for bush-league
Date: 1959
: falling below acceptable standards : unprofessional
bush behavior