bustle1
[buhs-uh l]
- to move or act with a great show of energy (often followed by about): He bustled about cooking breakfast.
- to abound or teem with something; display an abundance of something; teem (often followed by with): The office bustled with people and activity.
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- to cause to bustle; hustle.
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- thriving or energetic activity; stir; ferment.
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Origin of bustle1
1615–25; Middle English bustelen to hurry aimlessly along, perhaps akin to Old Norse busla to splash about, bustle
Synonyms
See more synonyms for bustle on Thesaurus.com4. ado, flurry, agitation, fuss.
bustle2
[buhs-uh l]
- fullness around or below the waist of a dress, as added by a peplum, bows, ruffles, etc.
- a pad, cushion, or framework formerly worn under the back of a woman's skirt to expand, support, and display the full cut and drape of a dress.
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Origin of bustle2
First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for bustle
Contemporary Examples
After nine months, McKeever gradually began to introduce Roger to the bustle and noise of New York.
There is much purposeful hustle and bustle but tasks go uncompleted; confusion reigns.
Since the film is set in the 19th century, Jones was outfitted in a series of Victorian era gowns, replete with bodice and bustle.
The bustle of the newsroom is a mere backdrop for self-involved characters to give talky speeches and taunt each other.
I miss the hustle and bustle of New York when I fly in to speak or for meetings.
Rebecca Walker’s ‘Black Cool’ Promotes the Non-Material Side of Black CultureAllison Samuels
February 4, 2012
Historical Examples
Meanwhile there had been bustle and preparation in all parts of the great vessel.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
During this time there was a bustle of much interest in the paddock.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
What is there in it, says she, that all this bustle is about?
Clarissa, Volume 2 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
It's no trial to you, Mark, to make yourself comfortable and to bustle about.
Life And Adventures Of Martin ChuzzlewitCharles Dickens
I heard the bustle of the others—of the audience going away.
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
bustle1
- (when intr , often foll by about) to hurry or cause to hurry with a great show of energy or activity
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- energetic and noisy activity
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Word Origin
C16: probably from obsolete buskle to make energetic preparation, from dialect busk from Old Norse būask to prepare
bustle2
- a cushion or a metal or whalebone framework worn by women in the late 19th century at the back below the waist in order to expand the skirt
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Word Origin
C18: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for bustle
v.
"be active," 1570s (bustling "noisy or excited activity" is from early 15c.), frequentative of Middle English bresten "to rush, break," from Old English bersten (see burst (v.)), influenced by Old Norse buask "to make oneself ready" (see busk (v.)), or from busk (v.) via a frequentative form buskle. Related: Bustled; bustling; bustler.
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n.2
"padding in a skirt," 1788, of uncertain origin, perhaps from German Buschel "bunch, pad," or it might be a special use of bustle (n.1) with reference to "rustling motion."
BUSTLE. A pad stuffed with cotton, feathers, bran, &c., worn by ladies for the double purpose of giving a greater rotundity or prominence to the hips, and setting off the smallness of the waist. [Bartlett, "Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]
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n.1
"activity, stir, fuss, commotion," 1630s, from bustle (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper