busy

play

adjective \ ˈbi-zē \

Definition of busy

busier; busiest

1 a :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

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busily

play \ˈbi-zə-lē\ adverb

—

busyness

play \ˈbi-zē-nəs\ noun

See busy defined for English-language learners

See busy defined for kids

Examples of busy in a Sentence

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?

Recent Examples of busy from the Web

The noble northerner did have a busy night, after all—his true heritage and birth name were both revealed in the finale.

— yohana desta, HWD, "Game of Thrones: Proof That Everyone Really Loved That Bloody Character Death," 28 Aug. 2017
Barely an island, the rocks are home to utilitarian structures including a communications tower meant to reinforce Singapore’s claim in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

— christopher bodeen, The Seattle Times, "Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea," 27 Aug. 2017
This past April, Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski, fast-becoming a renewables celebrity, delivered the closing address at the busy International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum in Annapolis, Maryland.

— justin nobel, Longreads, "Why Oil-Loving Louisiana Should Embrace America’s Coming Offshore Wind Boom," 23 Aug. 2017
The wreck closed the busy interstate until early the next day.

— matt campbell, kansascity, "Truck driver cited for speed in fiery Interstate 435 crash that took one life," 21 Aug. 2017
The storms that crossed the region hit Harford around 4 p.m., according to the Fire and EMS Assocation, which also reported on its media Facebook page that volunteer fire and EMS companies were busy answering calls throughout the county.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Employees evaluated after possible lightning strike at Harford 911 Center Friday," 19 Aug. 2017
Puigdemont says 12 people are confirmed dead and at least 80 have been hospitalized since the van jumped a sidewalk and swerved through a busy pedestrian area.

— Bloomberg.com, "URGENT: The Latest: Suspects ID'd as Moroccan, Spanish Nationals," 17 Aug. 2017
The hiatus means SpaceX has a busy launch manifest planned for the remainder of the year, with at least six flights scheduled to launch before November 1.

— jay bennett, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX to Launch a Supercomputer and Army Satellite to the ISS This Afternoon," 14 Aug. 2017
Venice Beach The busiest of L.A.’s city parks is a prime spot for doing some surfing — on the web.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "These L.A. Parks, Pools, and Beaches Have Free Wifi, the Most Important Natural Resource of All," 14 Aug. 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of busy

Middle English bisy, from Old English bisig; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German besich busy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

busy Synonyms

Synonyms

active, assiduous, bustling, diligent, employed, engaged, hopping, industrious, laborious, occupied, sedulous, tied-up, working

Antonyms

idle, inactive, unbusy, unemployed, unoccupied

Related Words

knee-deep, swamped; animated, astir, buzzing, flourishing, happening, humming, lively, thriving, vibrant; absorbed, concentrating, engrossed, focused (also focussed), immersed, intent, preoccupied; alive, functional, functioning, going, living, operating, operational, operative, running; energetic, vigorous; hardworking; indefatigable, tireless, untiring

Near Antonyms

free; asleep, dormant, latent, lifeless, quiescent, sleepy; inert, passive; dead, dull, slow; inoperative, nonoperating

Synonym Discussion of busy

busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous mean actively engaged or occupied. busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

- too busy to spend time with the children

industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

- industrious employees

diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

- very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

- assiduous practice

sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

- a sedulous investigation of the murder

busy

verb

Definition of busy

busied; busying

transitive verb

:to make engaged in action :to make busy (see ¹busy 1a) :occupy

busied herself about the room

intransitive verb

:bustle

small boats busied to and fro
—Quentin Crewe

See busy defined for English-language learners

Examples of busy in a Sentence

the video game busied the child for hours

Recent Examples of busy from the Web

Early one September morning in 1975, a 46-year-old woman busied herself preparing to go in for the first day of a brand-new job.

— nancy bilyeau, Town & Country, "How Jackie Kennedy Became a Powerful Book Editor After Leaving the White House," 18 Aug. 2017
Before his warning on North Korea, Trump had been busying himself in a war of words with a Democratic senator over Vietnam.

— john myers, latimes.com, "Essential Politics: Trump's 'fire and fury' warning to North Korea," 9 Aug. 2017
The whole family was recently in San Diego for Comic-Con, where Watts was busying promoting Twin Peaks.

— mike miller, PEOPLE.com, "Naomi Watts Shares Cute Birthday Message for Son Sasha: 'So Lucky to Be His Mummy'," 26 July 2017
During family get-togethers, while the women busied themselves in the kitchen, my uncle was often found on the living room sofa having a can of Budweiser with my grandfather, talking to him about his life.

— karissa chen, Longreads, "My Grandfather’s Fateful Goodbye, Reimagined," 8 July 2017
A tale of two chiefs Zimmerman doesn’t have hobbies, busying himself mostly with police business or time with family.

— glenn e. rice and ian cummings, kansascity.com, "Interim KC police chief brings ‘no drama’ to department during search for new leader," 24 June 2017
A tale of two chiefs Zimmerman doesn’t have hobbies, busying himself mostly with police business or time with family.

— glenn e. rice and ian cummings, kansascity, "Interim KC police chief brings ‘no drama’ to department during search for new leader," 24 June 2017
Before Landrieu targeted the other monuments for removal, the committee had busied itself with caring for Confederate monuments, including cleaning them up after various acts of vandalism.

— kevin litten, NOLA.com, "Confederate monuments: Group blasts Mitch Landrieu over vandalism," 1 June 2017
But even as Kushner now busies himself with his ever-expanding White House portfolio, his company is carrying on its vigorous efforts in court.

— alec macgillis/propublica, New York Times, "Jared Kushner’s Other Real Estate Empire," 23 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of busy

see ¹busy

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

busy Synonyms

Synonyms

absorb, bemuse, engage, catch up, engross, enthrall (or enthral), enwrap, fascinate, grip, immerse, interest, intrigue, involve, occupy

Related Words

allure, attract, beguile, bewitch, captivate, charm, enchant, obsess; hypnotize, mesmerize; distract, preoccupy; hog, monopolize

Near Antonyms

bore, jade, pall, tire, weary

BUSY Defined for English Language Learners

busy

play

adjective

Definition of busy for English Language Learners

: actively doing something
: full of activity or work
: full of people or things

BUSY Defined for Kids

busy

play

adjective \ ˈbi-zē \

Definition of busy for Students

busier; busiest

1 :actively at work

2 :being used

I tried to call, but the line was busy.

3 :full of activity

a busy day

—

busily

\ˈbi-zə-lē\ adverb

busy

verb

Definition of busy for Students

busied; busying

:to make busy

I busied myself with chores.

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busy

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BUSY Defined for English Language Learners

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BUSY Defined for Kids

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