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Botany.

a small axillary or terminal protuberance on a plant, containing rudimentary foliage (leaf bud) the rudimentary inflorescence (flower bud) or both (mixed bud)
an undeveloped or rudimentary stem or branch of a plant.

Zoology. (in certain animals of low organization) a prominence that develops into a new individual, sometimes permanently attached to the parent and sometimes becoming detached; gemma.
Mycology. a small, rounded outgrowth produced from a fungus spore or cell by a process of asexual reproduction, eventually separating from the parent cell as a new individual: commonly produced by yeast and a few other fungi.
Anatomy. any small rounded part.
an immature or undeveloped person or thing.
to put forth or produce buds.
to begin to develop.
to be in an early stage of development.
to cause to bud.
Horticulture. to graft by inserting a single bud into the stock.
in the bud, in an immature or undeveloped state:
a Shakespeare in the bud.
Also, in bud.
nip in the bud, to stop (something) in the beginning of its development:
The rebellion was nipped in the bud.
Contemporary Examples

All Good Things… David Frum June 2, 2013
Camp Fashion Design Draws Budding Designers To New York Robin Givhan July 12, 2012
Barry Bonds’ Federal Steroids Case Was a Travesty Buzz Bissinger April 2, 2011
The GOP Game Plan for 2010 Denis Calabrese September 18, 2009
Gal With a Suitcase Jolie Hunt June 17, 2010

Historical Examples

The Book of Tea Kakuzo Okakura
The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 58, August, 1862 Various
Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Fourth Annual Meeting Various
Howards End E. M. Forster
Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846 Various

adjective
at an early stage of development but showing promise or potential: a budding genius
noun
a swelling on a plant stem consisting of overlapping immature leaves or petals

a partially opened flower
(in combination): rosebud

any small budlike outgrowth: taste buds
something small or immature
an asexually produced outgrowth in simple organisms, such as yeasts, and the hydra that develops into a new individual
a slang word for marijuana
in bud, at the stage of producing buds
nip in the bud, to put an end to (an idea, movement, etc) in its initial stages
verb buds, budding, budded
(intransitive) (of plants and some animals) to produce buds
(intransitive) to begin to develop or grow
(transitive) (horticulture) to graft (a bud) from one plant onto another, usually by insertion under the bark
noun
(informal, mainly US) short for buddy
n.
v.

v. bud·ded, bud·ding, buds

budding
(bŭd’ĭng)
A form of asexual reproduction in living organisms in which new individuals form from outgrowths (buds) on the bodies of mature organisms. These outgrowths grow by means of mitotic cell division. Many simple multicellular animals such as hydras and unicellular organisms such as yeasts reproduce by budding.
bud
(bŭd)
Noun

Verb To form or produce a bud or buds.

Friend; fellow; guy •Used only in direct address, often with hostile intent: Okay, bud, that’ll do (1850s+)
A very close friend; buddy, pal: Just be glad I’m your bud/ She hid out with various buds and in runaway shelters (1930s+)

Budweiser [beer]
Ferihegy Airport (Budapest, Hungary)
see: nip in the bud