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busy

[biz-ee]
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adjective, bus·i·er, bus·i·est.
  1. actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime: busy with her work.
  2. not at leisure; otherwise engaged: He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.
  3. full of or characterized by activity: a busy life.
  4. (of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.
  5. officious; meddlesome; prying.
  6. ornate, disparate, or clashing in design or colors; cluttered with small, unharmonious details; fussy: The rug is too busy for this room.
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verb (used with object), bus·ied, bus·y·ing.
  1. to keep occupied; make or keep busy: In summer, he busied himself keeping the lawn in order.
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Origin of busy

before 1000; Middle English busi, bisi, Old English bysig, bisig; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch besich, Dutch bezig
Related formsnon·bus·y, adjectiveo·ver·bus·y, adjectivesu·per·bus·y, adjectiveun·bus·y, adjectivewell-bus·ied, adjective

Synonyms

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1. assiduous, hard-working. 2. occupied, employed, working.

Synonym study

1. 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.

Antonyms

1. indolent. 2. unoccupied.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

active, unavailable, working, full, lively, hectic, restless, bustling, curious, occupied, engaged, engrossed, persevering, buried, employed, hustling, swamped, overloaded, snowed, slaving

Examples from the Web for busy

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Plato perceived that the contemplative maiden was busy with memories of the past.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • In these solitary tours he was busy and happy, working and playing.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • He was busy almost half an hour, while Uncle Peter smoked in silence.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • All busy preparing for a start for the Head of the Bight to-morrow.

  • There is a look of industrious nothingness about him, such as busy dogs have.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

British Dictionary definitions for busy

busy

adjective busier or busiest
  1. actively or fully engaged; occupied
  2. crowded with or characterized by activitya busy day
  3. mainly US and Canadian (of a room, telephone line, etc) in use; engaged
  4. overcrowded with detaila busy painting
  5. meddlesome; inquisitive; prying
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verb busies, busying or busied
  1. (tr) to make or keep (someone, esp oneself) busy; occupy
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Derived Formsbusyness, noun

Word Origin

Old English bisig; related to Middle Dutch besich, perhaps to Latin festīnāre to hurry
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 busy

adj.

Old English bisig "careful, anxious," later "continually employed or occupied," cognate with Old Dutch bezich, Low German besig; no known connection with any other Germanic or Indo-European language. Still pronounced as in Middle English, but for some unclear reason the spelling shifted to -u- in 15c.

The notion of "anxiousness" has drained from the word since Middle English. Often in a bad sense in early Modern English, "prying, meddlesome" (preserved in busybody). The word was a euphemism for "sexually active" in 17c. Of telephone lines, 1893. Of display work, "excessively detailed, visually cluttered," 1903.

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v.

late Old English bisgian, from busy (adj.). Related: Busied; busying.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with busy

busy

In addition to the idioms beginning with busy

  • busy as a beaver
  • busy work

also see:

  • get busy
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.