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
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
Explanation
When you're busy, you have things to do. You're occupied and probably not bored. This word always means there's some kind of activity. When a phone line is busy, you can't get your call through. If you find the bathroom is busy, you'll have to wait it's free. When a supervisor is around, employees need to look busy. A busy intersection is loaded with traffic. If you're too busy playing basketball to finish your homework, your grades might suffer. It's good to be busy, but when people are too busy, they get stressed out.
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.
Home is elusive, since work keeps me busy traveling.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Nix told jurors she was busy gardening on the afternoon of 6 June 1978 when she "heard screaming from downstairs" and ran to the bathroom.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Gasoline prices nationally averaged $4.51 a gallon on Sunday and could keep climbing into Memorial Day weekend, the starting gun to the busy summer driving season.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Otherwise, he’s been too busy to pay much attention to the race.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
Nearly every town had its mediums who were kept busy asking the Civil War dead: Are you there?
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
