Bulb /(bŭlb)/

Bulb

n.
  1. A spheroidal body growing from a plant either above or below the ground (usually below), which is strictly a bud, consisting of a cluster of partially developed leaves, and producing, as it grows, a stem above, and roots below, as in the onion, tulip, etc. It differs from a corm in not being solid. (Bot.)
  2. A name given to some parts that resemble in shape certain bulbous roots; as, the bulb of the aorta. (Anat.)
  3. An expansion or protuberance on a stem or tube, as the bulb of a thermometer, which may be of any form, as spherical, cylindrical, curved, etc.
  4. a light bulb.

Phrases & Compounds

Bulb of the eye
the eyeball.
Bulb of a hair
the “root,” or part whence the hair originates.
Bulb of the spinal cord
the medulla oblongata, often called simply bulb.
Bulb of a tooth
the vascular and nervous papilla contained in the cavity of the tooth.

Bulb

v. i.
  1. To take the shape of a bulb; to swell.