Definition of BUDDY

buddy

Plural: buddies

Noun

  • a close friend who accompanies his buddies in their activities
  • A friend or casual acquaintance.
  • A partner for a particular activity.
  • An informal and friendly address to a stranger, usually male; a friendly (or occasionally antagonistic) placeholder name for a person one does not know.

Pron

  • A person far removed from the conversation.

Verb

Verb Forms: buddied, buddying, buddies

  • To become close friends or to accompany another.
  • To assign a buddy, or partner, to.

Adj

  • Resembling a bud.

Examples

  • Buddy's loaded. 'Got like three houses.
  • drinking buddies
  • Hey, buddy, I think you dropped this.
  • I found some earphones in the pocket, buddy must have been pissed.
  • They have been buddies since they were in school.
  • training buddies [mentor/mentee]
  • When playing Words With Friends, it’s wise to buddy up with letters that form common suffixes.

Origin / Etymology

First appears c. 1788, in the writings of Charles Dibdin, of uncertain origin. Possibly from *bruddy, *bruthy, a child-talk alteration of brother. Alternatively, perhaps from British colloquial butty (“companion”), also the form of an older dialect term meaning workmate, associated with coal mining. Itself believed derived from 1530 as booty fellow, a partner with whom one shares booty or loot. Alternatively, compare Scots buddo, bodda (“buddy, kiddo, dear”), related to Icelandic budda (“purse"; also "short, stout person”).

Scrabble Score: 12

buddy: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
buddy: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
buddy: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

buddy: valid Words With Friends Word