Meanings
- USslangLiving as a vagrant; homeless.First known use 19th c.
I ask, how many of these hobos, who are on the bum, have the courage to ask for the drink?
1870, M.P. Murphy, Iron Molders' Journal, volume 32, Iron Molders' Union of North America, page 5181 more example
Even now, though it was December, a few poor draggled old wrecks were settling down on the benches, tucking themselves up in sort of parcels of newspaper. Gordon looked at them callously. On the bum, they called it.
1936, George Orwell, Keep the Aspidistra Flying - USslangNot working; out of order.First known use 19th c.
My typewriter's on the bum—and I'm just lost. One gets so used to one that you're very dependent.
1927, Hart Crane, letter, 28 March
Cite this entry
on the bum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20bum
“on the bum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20bum. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the bum,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20bum.
Source: on the bum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.