busy
Americanadjective
-
actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime.
busy with her work.
- Synonyms:
- hardworking, assiduous
- Antonyms:
- indolent
-
not at leisure; otherwise engaged.
He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.
- Antonyms:
- unoccupied
-
full of or characterized by activity.
a busy life.
-
(of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.
-
officious; meddlesome; prying.
-
ornate, disparate, or clashing in design or colors; cluttered with small, unharmonious details; fussy.
The rug is too busy for this room.
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
actively or fully engaged; occupied
-
crowded with or characterized by activity
a busy day
-
(of a room, telephone line, etc) in use; engaged
-
overcrowded with detail
a busy painting
-
meddlesome; inquisitive; prying
verb
Related Words
Busy, diligent, industrious imply active or earnest effort to accomplish something, or a habitual attitude of such earnestness. Busy means actively employed, temporarily or habitually: a busy official. Diligent suggests earnest and constant effort or application, and usually connotes fondness for, or enjoyment of, what one is doing: a diligent student. Industrious often implies a habitual characteristic of steady and zealous application, often with a definite goal: an industrious clerk working for promotion.
Other Word Forms
- busyness noun
- nonbusy adjective
- overbusy adjective
- superbusy adjective
- unbusy adjective
- well-busied adjective
Etymology
Origin of busy
First recorded before 950; Middle English busi, bisi, Old English bysig, bisig; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch besich, Dutch bezig
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.
Family activities keep them busy, but Hammel-Sawyer thinks it’s important for her family to know she has other interests too.
From Los Angeles Times
And in case you weren’t busy enough this year, you also judged the Booker Prize.
From Los Angeles Times
Reform could struggle to win over voters in the diverse, busy UK metropolis, despite growing popularity across other parts of the country.
From Barron's
Airports in Paris and Amsterdam were the worst affected, with the Dutch authorities saying more than 1,000 travellers had been forced to spend the night at Schiphol, one of Europe's busiest hubs.
From Barron's
—U.S. indexes were mixed premarket ahead of a busy day of jobs data.
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.
