busy Hear it!

busy Definition

busy (biz′ē)

adjective bus′i·er, 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 bus′·ied, bus′y·ing

to make or keep busy: often used reflexively

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

busy Related Forms
bus′y·ness noun
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.

busy Telecom Definition
The condition that exists when a central office (CO), PBX, destination telephone circuit, or other voice telecommunications component is in use at its full capacity and not available to accept additional calls. If a caller attempts to place a call to a device that is in a busy condition, the device returns a busy signal in the backward direction. For a telephone, busy is the same as off hook. See also busy signal.
busy Usage Examples

Preposition: at

  • moment: I'm busy at the moment wondering which courses I should take to get some qualifications.
  • weekend: The pools near us are so busy at weekends so its nicer for him to go in the week.

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.
  • road: Our busy roads are no longer able to cope without putting lives at risk.
  • airport: Quality hotels at Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, all at cheaper rates.
  • lifestyle: I can fit the degree into my busy lifestyle.
  • port: The city of Izmir is the third largest in turkey and has a busy port on the Aegean Sea.
  • street: We go from the backyard of a house to a busy street.

Modifying Another Word

  • too: The phrase " I'm too busy " simply does not exist here.
  • extremely: The ward was extremely busy at the time; there were only enough staff to care for 22 patients.
  • very: Just about getting settled down had a very busy week hoping to hear from you soon love to all from all your sister Belle.
  • exceptionally: I fear, my gift will be a little late, but you will forgive when you know how exceptionally busy I have been.
  • incredibly: D ' I have had an incredibly busy year, both academically and socially.

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.
  • get: Be warned the place's get busy between 11am to 1pm.
  • stay: Yet you don't have to stay busy all day every day.
  • become: The cadets were very keen and Sunday mornings became as busy as any weekday.

Preposition: in

  • summer: Accommodation may be busy in summer and higher, more remote, parts difficult in winter.
busy Quotes

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

—Fitzgerald, F(rancis) Scott Key

A busy manwho can keep up a daily journal resembles a Steel person preparing for bed with the shades up† When such a man publishes parts of his journal, the reader must conclude he always knew the lights were on.

—Starr, Roger

Paintin's not important. What's important is keepin' busy.

—Moses'

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