BUSY | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of busy in English busyadjective uk /ˈbɪz.i/ us /ˈbɪz.i/

busy adjective (DOING THINGS)

Add to word list Add to word list A2 If you are busy, you are working hard, or giving your attention to a particular thing: keep someone busy I've got plenty of jobs to keep you busy. Dad was busy in the kitchen.busy with The kids are busy with their homework. [ + -ing verb ] She's busy writing out the wedding invitations. He was too busy talking to notice us come in. not available

• busyI'm busy all morning - can we meet up in the afternoon?
• tied upI'll be tied up in meetings until 3.00pm, but could meet after that.
• unavailableThe CEO is currently unavailable - may I take a message?
• engagedI can't come to tea - I'm engaged elsewhere.

See more results » having a lot to do

• busyI was busy clearing out the shed.
• up to your ears in somethingI'm up to my ears in chores!
• up to your eyeballs in somethingDon't bother her - she's up to her eyeballs in paperwork.
• up to your eyes in somethingI'm up to my eyes in work at the moment.
• up to your neck in somethingI can't help, I'm up to my neck in schoolwork.
• have your hands fullI have my hands full with the kids at the moment, so I can't take on any more work.

See more results » If you are busy, you are not free or available to do something: Would you like to come over at the weekend, or are you busy? I'm busy on Tuesday morning but we could meet in the afternoon. A1 A busy place is full of activity or people: a busy restaurant Their house is near a very busy road. full of activity

• busyThe pub is always busy on a Friday.
• fullShe leads a rich, full life.
• hecticThey tried to fit a holiday into their hectic schedules.
• freneticThe frenetic pace of city life is exhausting.
• bustlingThey moved to the bustling city centre.

See more results » too full of vehicles

• busyThe M4 is always busy.
• congestedTraffic is congested heading into and out of the city this morning.
• gridlockedChicago is one of the most gridlocked cities in America.
• backed upThere's an accident on the motorway and traffic is backed up for miles.
• bumper to bumperThe road is bumper to bumper as tourists flock up the coast.
• jammedTraffic is jammed up for miles.

See more results » A2 In a busy period, you have a lot of things to do: I have a busy week ahead of me. You've had a busy day. (UK also engaged) If a phone line is busy, someone is using it: I tried calling you but the line was busy.

• The meeting will have to wait until tomorrow, because I'm too busy now.
• Davies is busy adapting Brinkworth's latest novel for television.
• She's busy knitting baby clothes.
• A bomb exploded at one of London's busiest railway stations this morning.
• I like to keep busy.

Busy and active

• abustle
• be (as) busy as a bee idiom
• be all go idiom
• be at work idiom
• be back in harness idiom
• boot
• frenetic
• frenetically
• gainfully employed
• gangbusters
• girlie swot
• neck
• overdrive
• peak
• rev
• rev up (someone/something) phrasal verb
• rough and tumble idiom
• run around phrasal verb
• run round phrasal verb
• tie

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Unavailable and inaccessible

busy adjective (WITH PATTERNS)

disapproving having too much decoration or too many colours: The jacket was a bit too busy for my tastes - I'd prefer something plainer. Complexity

• advanced
• all-singing
• baroque
• baroquely
• be more to something than meets the eye idiom
• fractally
• high-tech
• indirectly
• insolubility
• intractability
• onerousness
• ornate
• ornately
• over-elaborate
• over-fussy
• tortuously
• tortuousness
• twisty
• ultra-sophisticated
• wheels within wheels idiom

See more results »

Related word

busyness busyverb uk /ˈbɪz.i/ us /ˈbɪz.i/  busy yourself to make the time pass by doing something: I busied myself with tidying up my desk. I busied myself in the kitchen and tried hard not to worry. I busied myself with voluntary work and, in time, forgot that I was miserable. Anna busied herself in the garden till lunch. Tom left the women to talk and busied himself arranging the children's toys. She busied herself with checking emails. Synonym occupy Acting and acts

• (your) every move idiom
• act
• act for someone
• act/do something on your own responsibility idiom
• ADL
• agency
• ant
• beat
• execution
• exercise in something
• exploit
• exponent of something
• move
• practice
• praxis
• put your money where your mouth is idiom
• responsibility
• roleplay
• stuff
• talk

See more results » (Definition of busy from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

busy | American Dictionary

busyadjective [ -er/-est only ] us /ˈbɪz·i/ Add to word list Add to word list (of a person) actively involved in doing something or having a lot of things to do, or (of a time or place) when or where a lot of things are happening: a busy street the busy summer months I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to have any social life. Getting the house ready for her relatives kept her busy the whole day. If a telephone is busy, it is being used by someone else: Her line is still busy. busyverb [ T ] us/ˈbɪz·i/ to make the time pass by doing something: Aimee busied herself with a favorite book. (Definition of busy from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

busy | Business English

busyadjective uk /ˈbɪzi/ us Add to word list Add to word list working hard, or giving your attention to a particular thing: too busy to do sth I have been far too busy to think about taking time off.busy with sth/sb All our agents are currently busy with other customers.busy doing sth While we were busy planning our expansion, he was planning to take over the company.a busy man/woman/person I won't take up much of your time, because I know you're a busy woman. full of activity or people: a busy office/restaurant/street The shop is always busy on Saturdays. in a busy period, you have a lot of things to do: a busy week/day/morning It’s been a busy week. COMMUNICATIONS   ( UK also engaged) if a telephone line is busy, someone is using it: I tried calling the office, but the line was busy. (Definition of busy from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) What is the pronunciation of busy?

Translations of busy

in Chinese (Traditional) 做事情, 忙碌的, 忙於…的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 做事情, 忙碌的, 忙于…的… See more in Spanish ocupado, atareado, concurrido… See more in Portuguese ocupado, atarefado, concorrido… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian व्सस्त, व्यस्त, वहीवाटीची जागा… See more 取り込み中で, ～に余念がない, 混雑している… See more meşgul, yoğun, insan ve eylem dolu olan… See more occupé/-ée, plein/pleine d’animation, occupé… See more atrafegat, enfeinat, concorregut… See more bezig, druk, bezet… See more நீங்கள் ஓய்வில்லாமல் வேலையாக (பிஸியாக) இருந்தால், நீங்கள் கடினமாக உழைக்கிறீர்கள் அல்லது ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட விஷயத்தில் உங்கள் கவனத்தை செலுத்துகிறீர்கள்., உங்களுக்குப் பணிமிகுதியாக இருந்தால்… See more व्यस्त, (व्यक्ति) व्यस्त, (अवधि या समय) व्यस्त… See more કામમાં, કાર્યરત, કોઈ કામમાં રોકાયેલા હોવું.… See more travl, optaget, travl med… See more upptagen, livlig, full av rörelse (trafik)… See more sibuk, menyibukkan… See more beschäftigt, belebt, besetzt… See more travel, opptatt, trafikkert… See more مصروف, بھیڑ بھاڑ والی جگہ, مصروف جگہ… See more зайнятий, пожвавлений, неспокійний… See more బిజీ, తీరిక లేకుండా నిమగ్నమై, మీరు బిజీగా ఉన్నారంటే మీరు కష్టపడి పని చేస్తున్నారు లేక ఒక అంశం లేక పనిలో పూర్తిగా నిమగ్నమై ఉన్నారు.… See more নির্দিষ্ট কাজে ব্যস্ত আছেন এমন, আপনি যদি ব্যস্ত থাকেন, আপনি কঠোর পরিশ্রম করছেন অথবা কোনো বিশেষ বিষয়ে মনোযোগ দিচ্ছেন… See more zaneprázdněný, zaměstnán, rušný… See more banyak pekerjaan, sibuk, ramai… See more ยุ่ง, เต็มไปด้วยรถ คน หรือกิจกรรมต่าง ๆ, (สาย) ไม่ว่าง… See more bận rộn, nhộn nhịp, đang bận… See more zajęty, zatłoczony, gorączkowy… See more 열심히 하는, 붐비는, 바쁜… See more occupato, indaffarato, pieno di gente/di traffico… See more Need a translator?

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bustled bustling busty busulfan busy busy Lizzie busy signal busybody busyness {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of busy

• busy signal
• busy Lizzie
• keep someone busy
• a busy tone
• be (as) busy as a bee idiom
• lead a busy, normal, quiet, etc. life phrase
• lead a busy, normal, quiet, etc. life

See all meanings

• be (as) busy as a bee idiom
• lead a busy, normal, quiet, etc. life phrase

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

no-brainer

UK /ˌnəʊˈbreɪ.nər/ US /ˌnoʊˈbreɪ.nɚ/

something such as a decision that is very easy or obvious

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• English   
  • Adjective 
    • busy (DOING THINGS)
    • busy (WITH PATTERNS)
  • Verb 
    • busy yourself
• American   AdjectiveVerb
• Business   Adjective

• Translations
• Grammar
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