bulls
bulls
Pronunciation
IPA Phonetic Spelling: /bʊlz/
bulls
/b/ as in ball
/ʊ/ as in put
/l/ as in light
/z/ as in zoo
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: bull
Plural Noun: bulls
Verb: bull (uncommon, but can be used as in "to bull your way through")
Adjective: bullish
Adverb: bullishly
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A male of the bovine family, often associated with strength and aggression.
Synonyms: ox, steer, bovine
Antonyms: cow, calf
A large, powerful person, especially one who is aggressive or dominant.
Synonyms: brute, bruiser, strongman
Antonyms: weakling, coward, pushover
(Finance) An investor who believes a market or stock will rise and takes actions to profit from that belief.
Synonyms: optimist, speculator, buyer
Antonyms: bear, pessimist, seller
Examples of Use
Bull fighting is a controversial but popular spectacle in some parts of the world, where a matador confronts a bull in an arena ( The New York Times, May 2024).
The stock market experienced a long "bull run," with prices consistently rising for several years before a recent downturn ( Wall Street Journal, July 2024).
"The Chicago Bulls are one of the most iconic teams in basketball history, especially known for their dominance in the 1990s," a sports analyst commented on a podcast in June 2024.
In a recent documentary, a rancher spoke about the difficulty of managing a herd of cattle, particularly during calving season, and the need to keep the bulls separate from the cows.
In a scene from a popular television show, a character is described as a "bull in a china shop," an idiom suggesting their clumsy and destructive nature.
A headline in an online magazine read, "Bulls on Parade: The Resurgence of Classic Muscle Cars," discussing the renewed interest in powerful, vintage automobiles.
A farmer, posting on a social media forum, asked for advice on how to handle an aggressive bull that was a danger to the other livestock.
10 Famous Quotes Using Bulls
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls guard)
"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient." (This is a famous Warren Buffett quote, but it's often used in the context of bulls and bears.)
"The seaman tells stories of winds, the ploughman of bulls; the soldier details his wounds, the shepherd his sheep." - Laurence J. Peter
"I've never run with the bulls. I prefer to watch from the safety of a balcony." - Cesar Azpilicueta
"If you do the work, you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life." (A quote by Michael Jordan, often associated with his time on the Chicago Bulls).
"You never hear about a pit bull doing anything good in the media. And they have a stigma to them... and, in many ways, pit bulls are like young African-American males." - Ryan Coogler
"The aging of the U.S. population is a theme that we believe strongly in and the health care sector is really right in the bulls eye of this particular theme." - John Zimmerman
"A bull market can obscure mathematical laws, but they cannot repeal them." - Warren Buffett
"When one gets old and they are sick, there are not many things they can count on but they should be able to count on Social Security. Our seniors' retirement should never rely on the bull of political promises or the bear of the market." - Barbara Mikulski
"The first thing I heard when I got in the business - not from my mentor - was, 'Bulls make money, bears make money, and pigs get slaughtered.' I'm here to tell you I was a pig." - Stanley Druckenmiller
Etymology
The word "bull" has its roots in Germanic languages. The Old English word was "bula", which is believed to have come from the Proto-Germanic word "bullon". This word likely referred to the male of the bovine species, or perhaps to a similar large, bellowing animal.
The earliest recorded use of the word in English, as far as we can tell, was around the year 1225. At that time, its meaning was the same as it is today: a large, uncastrated male of the ox family. Over time, its meaning expanded to include other things that shared the characteristics of a bull—strength, aggression, or a certain kind of stubbornness—leading to phrases like "a bull in a china shop" and the use of "bull" to describe a person with those qualities.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Bulls
A bull in a china shop: A person who is clumsy or careless in a delicate situation.
Take the bull by the horns: To confront a difficult or dangerous situation directly and with courage.
Bull's-eye: The center of a target, especially in archery or darts; also used to mean achieving a perfect result.
Bull market: A period of time when the prices of stocks are rising, encouraging buying.
Bull session: An informal, unstructured group discussion.
To go bullish: To become optimistic about a particular stock or market.
Like a bull at the gate: Eager and impatient to start.
The bull of Bashan: A Biblical reference to a powerful, fierce adversary.
To shoot the bull: To engage in idle conversation or talk nonsense.
A bullheaded person: Someone who is stubborn and unwilling to change their mind.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of bulls from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
