English Explanatory Dictionary

bustle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An excited activity; a stir.
  2. A cover to protect and hide the back panel of a computer or other office machine.
  3. A frame worn underneath a woman's skirt, typically only protruding from the rear as opposed to the earlier more circular hoops.
  4. Money; cash.
verb
  1. To move busily and energetically with fussiness (often followed by about).
  2. To teem or abound (usually followed by with); to exhibit an energetic and active abundance (of a thing).
  3. To push around, to importune.
name
  1. A surname from German.

Pronunciation

/ˈbʌsəl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bustle.wav

Word forms

bustle bustles bustling bustled

Etymology

From Middle English bustlen, bustelen, bostlen, perhaps an alteration of *busklen (> Modern English buskle), a frequentative of Middle English busken (“to prepare; make ready”), from Old Norse búask (“to prepare oneself”); or alternatively from a frequentative form of Middle English busten, bisten (“to buffet; pummel; dash; beat”) + -le. Compare also Icelandic bustla (“to splash; bustle”).

Synonyms

ado hustle flit scamper scurry abound brim bristle burst crawl swell teem

Derived words

bustlesome bustly hustle and bustle hustle-bustle abustle bustler outbustle
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