busy Hear it!

busy definition

busy (biz′ē)

adjective busier bus′i·er, busiest bus′i·est

  1. occupied in some activity; at work; not idle
  2. full of activity; characterized by much action or motion
    1. in use at the moment, as a telephone line
    2. indicating such use the busy signal
  4. meddlesome
  5. having so much detail, variety of color, etc. as to create a confusing, displeasing effect

Etymology: ME busi < OE bisig, occupied, diligent; akin to Du bezig: seen only in LowG & E

transitive verb busied bus′·ied, busying bus′y·ing

to make or keep busy: often used reflexively

Etymology: ME busien < OE bisgian, to occupy, employ < bisgu, occupation, labor

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms busy idiom

telecom busy definition - telecom

busy Synonyms

busy

modif.

  1. Engaged

    occupied, diligent, working, employed, involved, tied up, in conference, in a meeting, in the field, on an assignment; with a customer, with a patient, etc.; on duty, on the job, at work, on the move, on the run, on the road, hard-working, industrious, buried in, busy as a bee*, hustling*, up to one's ears, up to one's neck, up to one's eyeballs*, on the go*, on the jump*, hard at it*, having many irons in the fire*, having other fish to fry*; see also employed.

    Antonyms idle, unemployed*, unoccupied*, free. *

  2. Active

    bustling, energetic, lively, hectic; see active 2.

  3. In use

    employed, occupied, in someone else's possession, unavailable, already taken, full; see also rented.

    Antonyms not in use, available*, free. *

  4. Officious

    meddlesome, curious, forward, intrusive, obtrusive, meddling, prying, interfering, butting in*, snoopy*, nosy*, pushy*; see also meddlesome.

  5. Too crowded with detail

    fussy, cluttered, overelaborate; see elaborate 1, ornate 1. See syn. study at diligent.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

busy Usage Examples

Preposition: at

  • moment: I'm busy at the moment wondering which courses I should take to get some qualifications.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • keep: There is plenty to keep students busy with lots of choices within the eight main areas.

Modifies a noun

  • schedule: I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in.

Modifying Another Word

  • too: The phrase " I'm too busy " simply does not exist here.

Infinitive complement

  • pray: Are you too busy to pray or too busy not to pray?

Used with adjective complement

  • keep: Married to Rachel, he is kept busy with four children.

Preposition: in

  • summer: Accommodation may be busy in summer and higher, more remote, parts difficult in winter.
busy usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

busy quotes

O Lord! Thou knowest how busy I must be this day: if I forget thee, do not thou forget me.

-Astley, SirJacob

Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas, And yet he semed bisier than he was.

-Chaucer, Geoffrey

There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.

-Fitzgerald, F(rancis) Scott Key

busy quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Link to this page:

Cite this page:

MLA Style

"busy." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/busy>

APA Style

busy. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/busy

Comments:

Please or Register to post a comment