Boris bus

noun

A particular type of double-decker bus used in London, as popularized by mayor Boris Johnson; New Routemaster.

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Meanings

nounBoris bus (plural Boris buses)

plural Boris buses

  1. UKinformalA particular type of double-decker bus used in London, as popularized by mayor Boris Johnson; New Routemaster.

    Sadiq Khan has dumped the "Boris bus", a key part of the now foreign secretary's legacy as London mayor, because it is too expensive to produce.

    2016 December 31, Daniel Boffey, “London's 'Boris bus' reaches end of road as Sadiq Khan halts purchases”, in The Guardian
    1 more example

    The new Routemaster (dubbed the “Boris Bus”) was a hybrid diesel-electric double-decker that retained the “hop-on, hop-off” rear open platform of the original Routemasters but with updated features that made it fully accessible.

    [2022, Victoria R. Williams, London: Geography, History, and Culture, Bloomsbury, →ISBN

Origin

Named after Boris Johnson, mayor of London from 2008–2016.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Boris bus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Boris%20bus

MLA

“Boris bus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Boris%20bus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Boris bus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Boris%20bus.

Source: Boris bus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.