Busses or Buses | Spelling, Meaning & Examples
Spelling the plural of the noun “bus” can cause some confusion: is it busses or buses? The confusion is partly caused by the fact that busses has been an acceptable plural in both British English and American English. The most common form currently is buses.
Every day, in every US town and city, thousands of distinctive yellow buses/busses take the nation’s kids to school.
The town planners realized that the solution to the congestion problems was more buses/busses, not fewer.
The Prague Integrated Transport System includes Metro, trams, buses/busses, ferries, and even the funicular railway!
Busses or buses
Bus is a noun that refers to a large public transportation vehicle capable of carrying many passengers. It is also a technical term in mechanical engineering for a data path that connects a number of devices.
The plural of bus can be buses or busses. In American English, buses is by far the more common, and in British English, buses is probably also the favorite, but by a smaller margin.
The concert was huge, with special trains and buses/busses provided to bring the fans from all over the country.
The microprocessor was renowned for its ability to control multiple buses at the same time.
Because bus ends in a single consonant, when we add “-es” to make buses the temptation is to make the “u” long [boosiz], and adding an “s” removes that temptation. If you consider “fuss” and “fuse,” we can see that “fusses” rhymes with busses, whereas “fuses” doesn’t.
Bussed or bused
Bus is also a verb that means to transport people (or yourself) by bus or, in the US, to clear tables in a restaurant. The same variations exist with the verb as well.
In American English, you will find that the verb forms bus/busing/bused are preferred. In British English, some style guides (e.g., The Guardian newspaper) use a single “s” for the noun plural but double “s” for bussing and bussed.
Like many aspiring actors, Jen’s first few years in Hollywood were spent bussing/busing tables in a diner.
It wasn’t his dream job, but as he bussed/bused the passengers from the jetway to the plane, Matt was grateful he had a job at all.
Main differences between American and British English
American and British English are very similar, but there are a few main differences in spelling. Five important differences are:
| Difference | Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -or vs -our | In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or. | Behavior or behaviour Labor or labour Favor or favour Favorite or favourite Color or colour Honor or honour |
| In British English, these same words end in -our. | ||
| -er vs -re | In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er. | Theater or theatre Center or centre Meter or metre Liter or litre Saber or sabre Fiber or fibre |
| In British English, these same words end in -re. | ||
| -ize vs -ise | In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize. | Realize or realise Recognize or recognise Analyze or analyse Organize or organise Minimize or minimise Finalize or finalise |
| In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise. | ||
| -ed vs -t | In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed. | Learned or learnt Burned or burnt Kneeled or knelt Dreamed or dreamt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt |
| In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t. | ||
| Single vs double consonant | In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant. | Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling Canceled or cancelled Labeled or labelled Buses or busses Focused or focussed |
| In British English, these same words are spelled with a double consonant. |
Frequently asked questions about busses or buses
- Is busses a word?
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Busses is one of the two possible plural forms of the noun bus. It is also the third-person singular form of the verb bus. In both cases, the word can also be spelled buses.
In fact, most authorities suggest that in both British English and American English, the single “s” version is preferable.
There is also the somewhat rare American English verb buss meaning “kiss,” and busses is the third-person singular form of that verb.
To make sure you have the right spelling of busses or buses, you can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
- What is the past tense of bus?
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Bus is a verb meaning “transport by bus” or, in the US, “clear tables in a restaurant.” The past tense has two possible spellings: bused or bussed.
In both British English and American English, bused is preferred, but neither is wrong.
You can check that you have the correct spelling of bussed or bused by using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
- What is the plural of bus?
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The plural of the noun bus is either buses or busses. The usual spelling in both British English and American English is buses, although it is not incorrect if it is spelled busses.
You can check if busses or buses is the correct plural of bus by using the QuillBot Grammar Checker.
- How do you spell buses?
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Buses is the correct spelling of both the plural of the noun bus and the third person singular of the verb bus. In both British English and American English, busses is a less common but still acceptable variant.
You can use the QuillBot Grammar Checker to ensure you have the correct spelling of buses.
