To save this word, you'll need to log in.
\ ˈbi-zē 
\
\busier; busiest
Definition of busy
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a : engaged in action : occupied She's busy studying. has enough work to keep him busy for a while
b : being in use
found the telephone busy
2 : full of activity : bustling a busy seaport
3 : foolishly or intrusively active : meddling a busy, fussy sort of man much concerned with regulating everything— A. M. Young
4 : full of distracting detail
a busy design
busy
verbbusied; busying
Definition of busy (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make engaged in action : to make busy (see busy entry 1 sense 1a) : occupy busied herself about the room
: bustle small boats busied to and fro— Quentin Crewe
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from busy
Adjective
busily \ ˈbi-zə-lē \ adverb
\ adverbSynonyms & Antonyms for busy
Synonyms: Adjective
- active,
- assiduous,
- bustling,
- diligent,
- employed,
- engaged,
- hopping,
- industrious,
- laborious,
- occupied,
- sedulous,
- tied-up,
- working
Synonyms: Verb
- absorb,
- bemuse,
- catch up,
- engage,
- engross,
- enthrall
- (or enthral),
- enwrap,
- fascinate,
- grip,
- immerse,
- interest,
- intrigue,
- involve,
- occupy
Antonyms: Adjective
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of busy in a Sentence
Adjective
She's busy preparing for her test.
Are you busy? Can I talk to you for a minute?
I will be busy cleaning the house.
I'm sorry I haven't called. I've been so busy. busy people who don't have time to cook
I got enough work to keep me busy for a while.
He is a very busy person.
He's been busy in the kitchen all afternoon.
My week has been so busy!
Is there any time in your busy schedule for us to have lunch next week? Verb
the video game busied the child for hours
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Perry has also been busy with other projects, including Sistas and The Oval, two shows that recently premiered on BET.
—
Sydney Scott, Essence, "Tyler Perry To Make His Netflix Debut With 'A Fall From Grace'," 22 Nov. 2019 The boneyard has enough F-16s to keep Boatright busy for the next decade, and maybe even fuel a robot war.
—
Wired, "What It Takes to Turn a Vintage F-16 Into a Drone," 19 Nov. 2019 News reports said the road in front of the explosion site was busy with people and tricycle rickshaws.
—
Fox News, "At least seven killed in Bangladesh gas explosion," 19 Nov. 2019 The beginning of winter is busy, and herders can be out in the mountains for weeks.
—
Juliana Hanle, Scientific American, "The Fight for the Reindeer," 18 Nov. 2019 Ordinary right-leaning Americans may be too busy with their lives to follow the details of what Fuentes believes, and might therefore lump him in with run-of-the-mill Trumpists.
—
Theodore Kupfer, National Review, "Why Donald Trump Jr. Was Heckled by ‘America First Nationalists’," 14 Nov. 2019 Firtash and the rest of the Ukraine players have all been busy with a flurry of intertwined business ventures.
—
Katie Zavadski, ProPublica, "Follow the Money in the Ukraine Scandal," 13 Nov. 2019 As a mother of four, Victoria Beckham is incredibly busy.
—
Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Victoria Beckham on Being a "Good Mother" While Running Her Business," 12 Nov. 2019 Nowadays, Skai is keeping busy with a few voice-acting roles.
—
Kara Nesvig, Teen Vogue, "Skai Jackson Shared a Throwback Photo With Noah Centineo," 8 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Until then, the bachelor monkey will likely busy himself with throwing mud and smashing coconuts — aggressive behavior that might’ve scared off previous potential mates.
—
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, "Monkey with Human Face Still Looking for Love After Being Single for 19 Years," 19 Nov. 2019 Meanwhile local women busy themselves sorting bottles of wine, left over from a fishermen’s banquet the night before.
—
The Economist, "China’s atheist Communist Party encourages folk religion," 19 Sep. 2019 Instead California’s legislature is busying itself with culture-war items.
—
Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, "Whither Kamala Harris? A Failed-State Senator’s Failing Campaign," 31 Oct. 2019 Three women greeted me, three generations: an old woman at a stove, her daughter busying herself sifting maize flour, the gawky granddaughter sprawled on a wooden chair — her long legs stretched out, her feet on the arm of another chair.
—
Paul Theroux, New York Times, "Paul Theroux’s Mexican Journey," 23 Sep. 2019 Instead, Alphabet has both a functional CEO in Pichai and a figurehead CEO who busies himself with far-off technology and is otherwise increasingly a ghost inside and outside of the company.
—
Washington Post, "Where Is Larry Page? Alphabet Deserves Better," 20 Sep. 2019 Sheldon Neuse, in for Matt Chapman at third, made an error on a potential double play that busied the bases for Santana’s home run.
—
Shayna Rubin, The Mercury News, "Athletics outslug Rangers in Khris Davis multi-homer game," 13 Sep. 2019 On a recent afternoon, Cristina Flores busied herself in the kitchen making quesadillas and reheating rice for lunch.
—
Brittny Mejia, latimes.com, "Deported airman’s mother inspires bill to protect ‘patriot parents’," 11 July 2019 On the coast, a textured wall adds depth and charm without busying things up.
—
Heidi Mitchell, House Beautiful, "This Lake Michigan House Was Built With Summertime In Mind," 16 Aug. 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'busy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for busy
busy
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of busy
: actively doing something
: full of activity or work
: full of people or things
See the full definition for busy in the English Language Learners Dictionary
busy
adjective\ ˈbi-zē \
\busier; busiest
Kids Definition of busy
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : actively at work
2 : being used
I tried to call, but the line was busy.
3 : full of activity
a busy day
busy
verbbusied; busying
Kids Definition of busy (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make busy
I busied myself with chores.
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on busy
What made you want to look up busy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Semantic Drift Quiz
- Which of the following was once a synonym for fun?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share busy
Time Traveler for busy
The first known use of busy was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century