busy

[biz-ee] /ˈbɪz i/
adjective, busier, busiest.
1.
actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime:
busy with her work.
2.
not at leisure; otherwise engaged:
He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.
3.
full of or characterized by activity:
a busy life.
4.
(of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.
5.
officious; meddlesome; prying.
6.
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), busied, busying.
7.
to keep occupied; make or keep busy:
In summer, he busied himself keeping the lawn in order.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English busi, bisi, Old English bysig, bisig; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch besich, Dutch bezig
Related forms
nonbusy, adjective
overbusy, adjective
superbusy, adjective
unbusy, adjective
well-busied, adjective
Synonyms
1. assiduous, hard-working. 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. 2. occupied, employed, working.
Antonyms
1. indolent. 2. unoccupied.
Examples from the web for busy
  • He's busy negotiating with potential investors.
  • Many publishers said they were busy with international activity.
  • Here are some other good choices for busy gardeners.
  • On a busy night, the hospital pharmacy can have 500 or 600 prescriptions to fill.
  • This is a busy time for everyone.
  • Ambitious readers will have no problem keeping busy this fall, with the arrival of many major works for children and teens.
  • Engineers are now testing computers, phones and cars that sense when you're busy and spare you from distraction.
  • The shores of Iceland are a busy place during the bird-breeding season.
  • The stylish octogenarian is, by his own account, as busy as ever.
  • Without power, keeping the kids busy came down to plenty of planning in terms of activities.
British Dictionary definitions for busy

busy

/ˈbɪzɪ/
adjective busier, busiest
1.
actively or fully engaged; occupied
2.
crowded with or characterized by activity: a busy day
3.
(mainly US & Canadian) (of a room, telephone line, etc) in use; engaged
4.
overcrowded with detail: a busy painting
5.
meddlesome; inquisitive; prying
verb busies, busying, busied
6.
(transitive) to make or keep (someone, esp oneself) busy; occupy
Derived Forms
busyness, noun
Word Origin
Old English bisig; related to Middle Dutch besich, perhaps to Latin festīnāre to hurry
Word Origin and History for busy
adj.

Old English bisig "careful, anxious," later "continually employed or occupied," cognate with Old Dutch bezich, Low German besig; no known connection with any other Germanic or Indo-European language. Still pronounced as in Middle English, but for some unclear reason the spelling shifted to -u- in 15c.

The notion of "anxiousness" has drained from the word since Middle English. Often in a bad sense in early Modern English, "prying, meddlesome" (preserved in busybody). The word was a euphemism for "sexually active" in 17c. Of telephone lines, 1893. Of display work, "excessively detailed, visually cluttered," 1903.

v.

late Old English bisgian, from busy (adj.). Related: Busied; busying.

Idioms and Phrases with busy

busy

also see:
get busy