busk
Americanverb (used without object)
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busks,
present (3rd person singular)
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busked,
past participle, past
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busking
present participle
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to entertain by dancing, singing, reciting, juggling, etc., on the street or in a public place.
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Canadian. to make a showy or noisy appeal.
noun
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a strip of whalebone, wood, steel, etc, inserted into the front of a corset to stiffen it
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archaic the corset itself
verb
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to make ready; prepare
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to dress or adorn
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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busksimple
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buskssimple
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have buskedperfect
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has buskedperfect
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am buskingprogressive
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are buskingprogressive
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is buskingprogressive
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have been buskingperfect progressive
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has been buskingperfect progressive
Past
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buskedsimple
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had buskedperfect
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was buskingprogressive
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were buskingprogressive
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had been buskingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of busk
First recorded in 1850–55; origin unclear; perhaps, if earlier sense was “to make a living by entertaining,” from Polari, from Italian buscare “to procure, get, gain,” from Spanish buscar “to look for, seek”
Explanation
To busk is to earn money by performing in public for tips. If you learn how to play the bagpipes, you could put on a kilt, go downtown, and busk. Unlike a concert with an admission fee, when a musician busks, she puts a tip jar nearby. Passers-by can donate money if they want to, but the music is free for those who can't or don't want to pay. In the 1800s, to busk was "to offer goods for sale only in bars and taprooms," probably from a nautical meaning of busk, "cruise like a pirate" or "live a shiftless life."
Vocabulary lists containing busk
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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Americanized
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The Hazel Wood
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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.
See Examples For:
In her hometown of Phuket, a tourist hub known for its beaches and seaside resorts, Nene was known to busk at Naka Weekend Market.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Officials told the ANI news agency a request from Mr Sheeran's team to busk on the road was rejected to avoid congestion in the area.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2025
Literally anyone can don a costume and busk for cash in America’s busiest plaza—so Luke Winkie thought he’d try his hand at one of the weirdest, least-regulated jobs in America.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2023
Buffett dropped out of Auburn, often journeying to New Orleans to busk in its streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2023
Mr. Gatschet thinks that much good resulted from the busk.
From American Indians by Frederick Starr
Caitlin, who is now 19, wrote the music in her bedroom and often busks in Glasgow city centre.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2021
Acosta Escobedo busks around the city during the week and wasn’t about to take election day off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2020
Between gigs, he busks, and the tips he collects make up an important part of his income, he says.
From Washington Post
Now he's a homeless schizophrenic, but he nourishes the hope of playing at Walt Disney Music Hall, the Frank Gehry building not far from where he busks for quarters.
From Time Magazine Archive
They're no herd's ballats, Maro's catches; Squire Pope but busks his skinklin' patches O' heathen tatters: I pass by hunders, nameless wretches, That ape their betters.
From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns
Street musicians busked for tourists, scooters and cars flew by, and dog walkers filed past Hætta’s temporary home.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2023
He performed not only in pubs but busked outside of subway stations and retail stores.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2021
Tornai has busked as a street musician and worked in beloved Seattle kitchens, including Stateside and Café Presse — but said this experience will alter the trajectory of her life.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2020
He has also acted in theatre and on screen, busked, potted, bevelled glass, made music and made people laugh - he's about to cameo in TV series Black Comedy, which showcases indigenous sketches.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2019
That summer Kari and Njal's sons busked them for Iceland, and when they were "all-boun" they went to see the earl.
From The Story of Burnt Njal: the great Icelandic tribune, jurist, and counsellor by Unknown
Beck began his career busking on the streets of New York, and eventually received some notice while playing in that city’s folk clubs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
When Dean began writing her own songs, she occasionally tested them out while busking with Rogerson on the South Bank in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
For the past 15 years, Hansard had organised an annual Christmas Eve busking gig to raise money for homelessness charities.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
She said busking in the capital had taught her about how to better relate to others.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
Barrel organists and other itinerant musicians would hang around the theatres, learn the tunes and make a living busking them in the street the next day.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
