bu
Abbreviation with 5 meanings
| Stands for | Bushel |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 5 |
| Categories | Units & Measurements, Business & Finance, Education & Academia, Military |
| Also written | BU |
bu has five meanings. The most common are Bushel (US customary and imperial unit) and Business unit (management & strategy); it can also stand for Boston University, Baylor University and Builder.
Meanings of bu at a glance
| # | bu stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bushel | Units & Measurements › US Customary and Imperial Unit |
| 2 | Business unit | Business & Finance › Management & Strategy |
| 3 | Boston University | Education & Academia › University |
| 4 | Baylor University | Education & Academia › University |
| 5 | Builder | Military › US Navy and Coast Guard Rating |
1. Bushel
Units & Measurements · US Customary and Imperial Unit Abbreviations
A dry volume measure of 4 pecks or 32 dry quarts, about 35.2 liters, used for grain, fruit and vegetables. Commodity markets trade corn, wheat and soybeans in bushels, each converted to a standard weight.
Example: December corn futures closed at $4.38 per bu on the Chicago Board of Trade.
For trading purposes a bushel of corn is 56 pounds, while a bushel of wheat or soybeans is 60 pounds, so bushels act as weight units in grain markets. Farm yields are reported in bushels per acre (bu/ac), with US corn yields averaging around 175 to 180 bu/ac in recent years. The US bushel is 2,150.42 cubic inches, the old Winchester bushel.
2. Business unit (BU)
Business & Finance · Management & Strategy Abbreviations
Semi-autonomous division of a company that runs a distinct product line, customer segment or region, often with its own management team, budget and profit-and-loss responsibility. Large corporations organize reporting and incentive plans around their BUs.
Example: Each BU head will present a three-year plan and capital request at the June strategy review.
BU is the everyday term; SBU (strategic business unit) emphasizes that the unit sets its own strategy. Public companies report results by "segments," which can combine several internal BUs. Plural BUs, pronounced as letters.
3. Boston University (BU)
Education & Academia · University Abbreviations
Large private university along Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, founded in 1839 as a Methodist seminary in Vermont and chartered in Boston in 1869. It is one of the largest private universities in the US and known for communication, law, medicine and hockey.
Example: BU's Terriers won the Beanpot hockey tournament again this February.
Martin Luther King Jr. earned his PhD at Boston University in 1955, and the university holds his papers from that period. BU Terriers teams compete in the Patriot League and in Hockey East. In Texas, BU usually means Baylor University.
4. Baylor University (BU)
Education & Academia · University Abbreviations
Private Baptist university in Waco, Texas, founded in 1845 by the Republic of Texas, making it the oldest continuously operating university in the state. Its Bears compete in the Big 12 and won the 2021 NCAA men's basketball championship.
Example: The BU campus in Waco sits along the Brazos River, about 100 miles south of Dallas.
Baylor's library holds the largest collection of materials about poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The university's main identifier is "Baylor", and BU more often means Boston University. Its women's basketball program has won three NCAA titles.
5. Builder (BU)
Military · US Navy and Coast Guard Rating Abbreviations
Seabee construction specialists who build and repair wooden, concrete and masonry structures, from forward-operating-base huts to schools, clinics and airfield facilities. They work in naval mobile construction battalions and construction battalion maintenance units.
Example: BU2 Lee's crew framed and roofed the clinic in eight days during the humanitarian deployment.
Seabee ratings include builders, construction electricians, construction mechanics, equipment operators, steelworkers, utilitiesmen and engineering aides. Seabees trace their name to the initials CB, for construction battalion, and their unofficial motto "Can Do!" dates from World War II.
Related abbreviations
More US customary and imperial unit abbreviations
- ac – Acre
- ac-ft – Acre-foot
- bbl – Barrel (oil)
- bd ft – Board foot
- CCF – Hundred cubic feet
- ch – Chain
- cu ft – Cubic foot
- cu in – Cubic inch
See all 43 US customary and imperial unit abbreviations →
More management & strategy abbreviations
- BPO – Business process outsourcing
- BPR – Business process reengineering
- BRD – Business requirements document
- BSC – Balanced scorecard
- C-level – Chief level (executive rank)
- C-suite – Chief executive suite (senior executives with chief titles)
- CAPA – Corrective and preventive action
- CI – Continuous improvement