bustling
Americanadjective
-
moving or acting with a great show of energy.
I watched her preparing lunch in the kitchen—a compact, bustling woman of around forty with her hair in a tight bun.
-
abounding or teeming with people or activities that create an atmosphere of energy.
This midwestern city is a bustling hub for business, education, recreation, and government.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bustling
First recorded in 1425–75; bustl(e) 1 ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; bustl(e) 1 ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun sense
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.
In the 1920s, Art Deco buildings rose along Wilshire Boulevard as the street transformed from a remote dirt path into a bustling, car-oriented commercial district.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026
“It was unmistakable, the sense of impending opportunity,” said Jon Hughes, the chief executive of boutique energy investment bank Petrie Partners, who visited the bustling hotel last week.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
At the bustling charging station in Beijing's Miyun District, 43-year-old truck driver Wang told AFP how his job had changed since he started driving an electric model last year.
From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026
In the bustling streets of the ancient Mughal city of Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, 49-year-old shopkeeper Aftab Ahmed is looking for solar panels to install at his home.
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
So he'd had to borrow money from his relatives to buy a train ticket from the seaport town of Stettin to the bustling big city of Berlin.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
