busywork
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of busywork
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.
If we kill busywork, we risk forfeiting the epiphanies that sometimes occur while doing easy, repetitive tasks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
What benefits have you found from the mental break provided by busywork?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
But when you’re occupied by that idle busywork, it’s easy enough to convince yourself it matters.
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2025
On the education front, instead of consulting books and other arcane text to write papers or prepare for exams, some students are offloading that busywork to ChatGPT.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2025
Principal Marshall looked up from all his busywork.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
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.
