noun, verb, bud⋅ded, bud⋅ding.| 1. | Botany.
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| 2. | Zoology. (in certain animals of low organization) a prominence that develops into a new individual, sometimes permanently attached to the parent and sometimes becoming detached; gemma. |
| 3. | Mycology. a small, rounded outgrowth produced from a fungus spore or cell by a process of asexual reproduction, eventually separating from the parent cell as a new individual: commonly produced by yeast and a few other fungi. |
| 4. | Anatomy. any small rounded part. |
| 5. | an immature or undeveloped person or thing. |
| 6. | to put forth or produce buds. |
| 7. | to begin to develop. |
| 8. | to be in an early stage of development. |
| 9. | to cause to bud. |
| 10. | Horticulture. to graft by inserting a single bud into the stock. |
| 11. | in the bud, in an immature or undeveloped state: a Shakespeare in the bud. Also, in bud. |
| 12. | nip in the bud, to stop (something) in the beginning of its development: The rebellion was nipped in the bud. |

bud
[bəd]
|
bud (bŭd)
n.
A small, rounded anatomical structure or organic part, such as a taste bud.
An asexual reproductive structure, as in yeast or a hydra, that consists of an outgrowth capable of developing into a new individual.
To put forth or cause to put forth buds.
To reproduce asexually by forming a bud.
| bud (bŭd) Pronunciation Key
Noun
Verb To form or produce a bud or buds. |
nip in the bud
Halt something at an early stage, or thoroughly check something. For example, By arresting all the leaders, they nipped the rebellion in the bud. This metaphoric expression, alluding to a spring frost that kills flower buds, was first recorded in a Beaumont and Fletcher play of 1606-1607.