BUD

n. & v. --n. 1 a an immature knoblike shoot from which a stem, leaf, or flower develops. b a flower or leaf that is not fully open. 2 Biol. an asexual outgrowth from a parent organism that separates to form a new individual. 3 anything still undeveloped. --v. (budded, budding) 1 intr. Bot. & Zool. form a bud. 2 intr. begin to grow or develop (a budding cricketer). 3 tr. Hort. graft a bud (of a plant) on to another plant. øin bud having newly formed buds. [ME: orig. unkn.]