English Explanatory Dictionary

busy

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.
  2. Engaged with or preoccupied by an activity or person.
  3. Having much work to do; having much to get done.
  4. Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate.
  5. Officious; meddling.
noun
  1. A police officer.
verb
  1. To make somebody busy or active; to occupy.

Pronunciation

bĭz'i /ˈbɪz.i/ en-us-busy.ogg En-uk-busy.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-busy.wav

Word forms

busy busier busiest busie busies busying busied

Etymology

From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig (“busy”), Low German besig (“busy”). The spelling with ⟨u⟩ represents the pronunciation of the West Midland and Southern dialects while the Modern English pronunciation with /ɪ/ is from the dialects of the East Midlands.

Synonyms

swamped heavy

Derived words

busihead busily business busy as a beaver busy as a bee busy as a dyke in a hardware store busy as a nailer busy as a one-armed paperhanger busy as a one-armed paper hanger busy beaver busy beaver function busy bee busy board busybody busy body busy book busy box busyish busy little beaver busy loop busyness busy-ness busy signal busy wait busy work busy-work embusy ever-busy fast busy signal get busy I'm busy keep someone busy nonbusy semibusy superbusy the line is busy underbusy Wheal Busy bebusy busy around forebusy overbusy unbusy
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