Busy

Pronunciation

• enPR: bÄ­z'i, IPA: /ˈbɪzi/
• Rhymes: -ɪzi

Origin

From Middle English busi, besy, bisi, from Old English bysiġ, *biesiġ, bisiġ ("busy, occupied, diligent"). Cognate with Dutch bezig ("busy"), Low German besig ("busy"), Old Frisian bisgia ("to use"), Old English bisgian ("to occupy, employ, trouble, afflict").

Full definition of busy

Adjective

1. Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.a busy street
• ShakespeareTo-morrow is a busy day.
2. Engaged in another activity or by someone else.The director cannot see you now, he's busy.Her telephone has been busy all day.She is too busy to have time for riddles.
3. Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate.Flowers, stripes, and checks in the same fabric make for a busy pattern.
4. Officious; meddling.
• 1603, William Shakespeare, , IV. ii. 130:I will be hanged if some eternal villain,
  Some busy and insinuating rogue,
  Some cogging, cozening slave, to get some office,
  Have not devised this slander; I'll be hanged else.

Related terms

• busy as a beaver
• busy as a bee
• busybody
• busyness
• busy work

Verb

1. (transitive) To make somebody busy, to keep busy with, to occupy, to make occupied.
• On my vacation I'll busy myself with gardening.
2. (transitive) To rush somebody.

Anagrams

• buys