busybody
Americannoun
-
busybodies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of busybody
Explanation
A busybody is a nosy, meddling person, who's very interested in what other people say and do. If you're a busybody, you can't help offering advice to friends, whether they want it or not. Busybodies are known for trying to help with situations in which they're not necessarily welcome or needed. You could describe your mom as a busybody if she asks prying questions and tries to orchestrate your romantic life. The word busybody comes from a now-obsolete meaning of busy, "prying" or "meddlesome."
Vocabulary lists containing busybody
With the Fire on High
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The Book of Unknown Americans
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"Oedipus the King" by Sophocles
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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.
See Examples For:
That was all fine for Graham: He got his fix with bonus cable-news bookings and participated in some debates, and then—phew!—was able to return to being a busybody in the Senate.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
The movie doesn’t quite know how to handle Mabel: She’s meant to be charmingly determined but comes across as more of a scold and a busybody.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
Elizabeth Kelly, best known for playing busybody Nellie Ellis in EastEnders, died peacefully in Scarborough on 31 December, her agent Scott Marshall Partners said.
From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2026
Your siblings and any other busybody family members would have no say.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 26, 2026
Despite the fact that he was now our closest living relative, he was the last person I wanted to see—a busybody who had once proved to me he was not to be trusted.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
The nomination process essentially officializes gossip, as various local busybodies suggest women based on hearsay about them and their families.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
Apparently, other parents decided they didn't want these busybodies telling them how to educate or raise their kids so they ran against them and won.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2023
The Broken Arms is noisy and crowded with busybodies, including an elderly theatrical mouse named Manfred Crabgrass.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2022
A: Lord save us all from “well-meaning” busybodies who think they’re helping by insisting they know when someone else needs to come out.
From Slate ● Jan. 4, 2021
After class I played with President Davis’s daughters, nicknamed Dit, Dot, and Dash—the same as the Morse code signals the military used to communicate— because they were such busybodies.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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.
