noun, verb, adjectivepl: bums
vagabundo, mendigo, nádega, bunda
1. A person without a home or job; a vagrant or tramp
He was living as a bum on the streets.
Ele estava vivendo como um vagabundo na rua.
2. The buttocks (informal/slang)
Get off your bum and do some exercise.
Levanta da bunda e faz um exercício.
3. A person who is lazy or irresponsible
Stop being such a bum and help me clean up.
Para de ser tão preguiçoso e me ajuda a limpar.
4. Of poor quality; substandard (adjective)
That was a bum deal.
Aquele foi um negócio ruim.
5. To obtain by begging or borrowing without returning (verb)
Can I bum a cigarette from you?
Posso pedir um cigarro emprestado?
In American English, 'bum' is commonly used to refer to homeless people, though it can be considered derogatory. In Brazilian Portuguese, 'vagabundo' or 'mendigo' are the preferred formal terms, while 'bunda' is the colloquial term for buttocks. The word reflects different social attitudes toward homelessness in English and Portuguese-speaking cultures.
NYC Slang
bum - used similarly to refer to homeless people or lazy individuals; also 'bum rush' (to forcibly eject)
Related Idioms & Phrases
bum rap - an unfair or false accusation
on the bum - living as a vagrant
bum around - to loaf or waste time
give someone the bum's rush - to eject someone forcibly
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