Busy Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms busy American [biz-ee] / ˈbɪz i /

adjective

busier, busiest

1. actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime.

   busy with her work.

   Synonyms: hardworking, assiduous Antonyms: indolent

2. not at leisure; otherwise engaged.

   He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.

   Synonyms: working, occupied Antonyms: unoccupied

3. full of or characterized by activity.

   a busy life.

4. (of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.

5. officious; meddlesome; prying.

6. ornate, disparate, or clashing in design or colors; cluttered with small, unharmonious details; fussy.

   The rug is too busy for this room.

verb (used with object)

busied, busying

1. to keep occupied; make or keep busy.

   In summer, he busied himself keeping the lawn in order.

busy British / ˈbɪzɪ /

adjective

1. actively or fully engaged; occupied

2. crowded with or characterized by activity

   a busy day

3. (of a room, telephone line, etc) in use; engaged

4. overcrowded with detail

   a busy painting

5. meddlesome; inquisitive; prying

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. (tr) to make or keep (someone, esp oneself) busy; occupy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 busy Idioms

More idioms and phrases containing busy

• get busy

Related Words

Busy, diligent, industrious imply active or earnest effort to accomplish something, or a habitual attitude of such earnestness. Busy means actively employed, temporarily or habitually: a busy official. Diligent suggests earnest and constant effort or application, and usually connotes fondness for, or enjoyment of, what one is doing: a diligent student. Industrious often implies a habitual characteristic of steady and zealous application, often with a definite goal: an industrious clerk working for promotion.

Other Word Forms

• busyness noun
• nonbusy adjective
• overbusy adjective
• superbusy adjective
• unbusy adjective
• well-busied adjective

Etymology

Origin of busy

First recorded before 950; Middle English busi, bisi, Old English bysig, bisig; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch besich, Dutch bezig

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Spirit-curious people showed up to talk to the dead and the entire household was busy with spirit circles from teatime until midnight.

From Literature

Mortgage rates fell below 6% this week for the first time in more than three years, welcome news for waves of house hunters heading into the busy spring home-buying season.

From The Wall Street Journal

Hard stop: I used to participate on a weekly call with several of my peers from different departments, all of whom, I estimate, were equally busy and crunched for time.

From The Wall Street Journal

At the Indonesian data centre, racks of metal-cased servers in tall white cabinets were busy answering AI queries for local users -- an intensive, heat-generating process.

From Barron's

It isn’t the kind of housing market omen investors in the sector were hoping at the start of the typically busy homebuying season.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bustling
• full
• hectic
• lively
• restless

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.