bustle

[ buhs-uhl ]

/ ˈbʌs əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bustle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), bus·tled, bus·tling.

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.

verb (used with object), bus·tled, bus·tling.

to cause to bustle; hustle.

noun

thriving or energetic activity; stir; ferment.

Nearby words

Origin of bustle

1615–25; Middle English bustelen to hurry aimlessly along, perhaps akin to Old Norse busla to splash about, bustle

SYNONYMS FOR bustle

4. ado, flurry, agitation, fuss.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bustle ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsbus·tler, nounbus·tling·ly, adverbun·bus·tling, adjective

bustle

[ buhs-uh l ]

/ ˈbʌs əl /

noun

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.

Origin of bustle

First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain

Related formsbus·tled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bustle

After nine months, McKeever gradually began to introduce Roger to the bustle and noise of New York.
Central Park’s Carriages Saved This Horse|Michael Daly|April 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is much purposeful hustle and bustle but tasks go uncompleted; confusion reigns.
Inside The EuroMaidan’s Circle Of Trust|Jamie Dettmer|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since the film is set in the 19th century, Jones was outfitted in a series of Victorian era gowns, replete with bodice and bustle.
Felicity Jones Is Bound for Stardom|Marlow Stern|December 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The bustle of the newsroom is a mere backdrop for self-involved characters to give talky speeches and taunt each other.
Aaron Sorkin’s Cable Crackup: Why His HBO Series Is a Snooze|Howard Kurtz|June 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST

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 Culture|Allison Samuels|February 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Hildebrand, it is true, did not possess the one, but he was soon to forget his uneasiness in the bustle of the other.
Hildebrand|Anonymous
Certainly, in New York, we are too vain of our bustle to realize how mannerless and motiveless it is.
The Oxford Book of American Essays|Various
There was a loud shriek from the bar, and a bustle—the prisoner had fainted.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, No. 382, October 1847|Various
There was of course a great deal of bustle and preparation, and all children enjoy that, I fancy.
The Carved Lions|Mrs. Molesworth
He was away from the bustle of the city, and an atmosphere of peace almost like that of the country was about him.
The Mystery of Evelin Delorme|Albert Bigelow Paine

British Dictionary definitions for bustle

bustle

/ (ˈbʌsəl) /

verb

(when intr , often foll by about) to hurry or cause to hurry with a great show of energy or activity

noun

energetic and noisy activity

Derived Formsbustler, nounbustling, adjective

Word Origin for bustle

C16: probably from obsolete buskle to make energetic preparation, from dialect busk from Old Norse būask to prepare

noun

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

Word Origin for bustle

C18: of unknown origin

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

Word Origin and History for bustle

bustle

"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.

bustle

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]

n.1

"activity, stir, fuss, commotion," 1630s, from bustle (v.).

bustle

verb (used without object), bus·tled, bus·tling.

verb (used with object), bus·tled, bus·tling.

noun

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Origin of bustle

bustle

noun

Origin of bustle

Examples from the Web for bustle

bustle

verb

noun

Word Origin for bustle

noun

Word Origin for bustle

bustle

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