busy

adjective \ ˈbi-zē \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

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

After a busy weekend out in the desert at Coachella with sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, Jenner returned home and showed off her new nude manicure on Instagram.

— kaitlyn frey, PEOPLE.com, "New Mom Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Manicure Featuring Daughter Stormi Webster's Initial," 17 Apr. 2018
Also: The Answer is busy with his Big 3 duties, sir.

— k.c. johnson, chicagotribune.com, "Bulls Q&A: What position will they address in the draft? How will Zach LaVine's contract talks go?," 17 Apr. 2018
Justin Bieber had a busy first weekend at Coachella.

— madeleine aggeler, The Cut, "All the Best Drama From the First Weekend of Coachella," 16 Apr. 2018
In their final night in the Old Building, Union reporters and editors were busy with two stories: the obituary for Publisher James S. Copley, who had died earlier in the day, and the eruption of the Yom Kippur War in the Middle East.

— roger showley, sandiegouniontribune.com, ""A Faithful Mirror": The San Diego Union-Tribune's first 150 years," 15 Apr. 2018
In Gaillard's off-campus apartment, where the sofa was tattered and the kitchen was filled with dirty dishes, the Impact organizing group members were busy with last-minute preparations.

— USA TODAY, "Nashville and the Destiny of Dissent," 15 Apr. 2018
The 40-year-old is keeping busy with two new projects arriving this month.

— meredith blake, latimes.com, "Alex Wagner joins 'the most ambitious television program on the air,' Showtime's 'The Circus'," 14 Apr. 2018
Summer weekends can be busy with canoers and kayakers, thanks in part to the numerous outfitters in Ontario.

— chelsey lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "12 places to camp along water in Wisconsin," 12 Apr. 2018
Oregon State wraps up a busy weekend in cold conditions at Baylor.

— ken goe, OregonLive.com, "On the practicality of Hayward's east side, and Moh Ahmed: Oregon track & field rundown," 8 Apr. 2018

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

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

Settling in the garage, Anton busies himself making propaganda videos and tidying the garden.

— jeannette catsoulis, New York Times, "Review: In ‘Dear Dictator,’ a Despot Does Housework," 15 Mar. 2018
His National Trade Council—himself and his aide—busied itself trying to help individual companies with trade problems, not setting broad trade policy.

— bob davis, WSJ, "Meet Peter Navarro—the Man Behind Trump’s Embrace of Tariffs," 8 Mar. 2018
While waiting for more games, more than 9 million Switch owners worldwide may still be busying themselves with Super Mario Odyssey, according to Nintendo's 2017 game sales figures.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "Nintendo Switch has already outsold the entire Wii U run," 31 Jan. 2018
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, "Jackie Kennedy's Third Act," 18 Aug. 2017
About a dozen workers busied themselves inside a few space rockets, each one about the size of a jumbo jet.

— simon shuster / dnipro, Time, "How North Korea Built a Nuclear Arsenal on the Ashes of the Soviet Union," 1 Feb. 2018
The Senate has failed to bring the legislation to the floor, instead busying itself with fast-tracking a controversial tax reform bill.

— nash jenkins, Time, "Why Millions of Children Could Lose Their Health Insurance in 2018," 12 Dec. 2017
But whereas India has counted on this legacy to sustain its influence, China has busied itself with funding scholarships, think-tanks and junkets to China for Nepalese journalists and academics.

— The Economist, "The two sides of the mountainIndia faces growing competition with China in its own backyard," 19 Dec. 2017
Ono spent the next few days busying himself with camping stoves, generators, and jerrycans, and paying little attention to the news.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "The Ghosts of the Tsunami," 25 Oct. 2017