13 results for: busy Browse Nearby Entries
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
bus·y    Audio Help   [biz-ee] Pronunciation Key adjective, bus·i·er, bus·i·est, verb, bus·ied, bus·y·ing.
–adjective
1.actively and attentively engaged in work or a pastime: busy with her work.
2.not at leisure; otherwise engaged: He couldn't see any visitors because he was busy.
3.full of or characterized by activity: a busy life.
4.(of a telephone line) in use by a party or parties and not immediately accessible.
5.officious; meddlesome; prying.
6.ornate, disparate, or clashing in design or colors; cluttered with small, unharmonious details; fussy: The rug is too busy for this room.
–verb (used with object)
7.to keep occupied; make or keep busy: In summer, he busied himself keeping the lawn in order.

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME busi, bisi, OE bysig, bisig; c. MLG, MD besich, D bezig]

1. assiduous, hard-working. Busy, diligent, industrious imply active or earnest effort to accomplish something, or a habitual attitude of such earnestness. Busy means actively employed, temporarily or habitually: a busy official. Diligent suggests earnest and constant effort or application, and usually connotes fondness for, or enjoyment of, what one is doing: a diligent student. Industrious often implies a habitual characteristic of steady and zealous application, often with a definite goal: an industrious clerk working for promotion. 2. occupied, employed, working.
1. indolent. 2. unoccupied.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
busy

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© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bus·y    Audio Help   (bĭz'ē)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   bus·i·er, bus·i·est
  1. Engaged in activity, as work; occupied.
  2. Sustaining much activity: a busy morning; a busy street.
  3. Meddlesome; prying.
  4. Being in use, as a telephone line.
  5. Cluttered with detail to the point of being distracting: a busy design.

tr.v.   bus·ied, bus·y·ing, bus·ies
To make busy; occupy: busied myself preparing my tax return.


[Middle English bisi, busi, from Old English bysig.]

bus'i·ly adv., bus'y·ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives suggest active or sustained effort to accomplish something. Busy, the most general, sometimes indicates constant and customary work or activity: a busy lawyer; a busy day.
Industrious implies steady application that is often habitual or the result of a natural inclination: weeds pulled by an industrious gardener.
Diligent suggests constant painstaking effort, often toward the achievement of a specific goal: a diligent detective.
Assiduous emphasizes sustained application: assiduous efforts to learn French.
Sedulous adds to assiduous the sense of persistent, thoroughgoing endeavor: "the sedulous pursuit of legal and moral principles" (Ernest van den Haag).

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
busy 
O.E. bisig "careful, anxious, busy, occupied," cognate with O.Du. bezich, Low Ger. besig; no known connection with any other Gmc. or IE language. Still pronounced as in M.E., but for some unclear reason the spelling shifted to -u- in 15c. The word was a euphemism for "sexually active" in 17c. Of telephone lines, 1893. In M.E., sometimes with a sense of "prying, meddlesome," preserved in busybody (1526). Busy work is first recorded 1910.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
busy

adjective
1. actively or fully engaged or occupied; "busy with her work"; "a busy man"; "too busy to eat lunch" [ant: idle
2. overcrowded or cluttered with detail; "a busy painting"; "a fussy design" 
3. intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner; "an interfering old woman"; "bustling about self-importantly making an officious nuisance of himself"; "busy about other people's business" [syn: interfering
4. crowded with or characterized by much activity; "a very busy week"; "a busy life"; "a busy street"; "a busy seaport" 
5. (of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; ('engaged' is a British term for a busy telephone line); "her line is busy"; "receptionists' telephones are always engaged"; "the lavatory is in use"; "kept getting a busy signal" 

verb
1. keep busy with; "She busies herself with her butterfly collection" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

busy

In addition to the idioms beginning with busy, also see get busy.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
busy1 [ˈbizi] adjective
having a lot (of work etc) to do
Example: I am very busy.
Arabic: مَشْغول، مُنْهَمِك
Chinese (Simplified): 忙的
Chinese (Traditional): 忙的
Czech: zaneprázdněný, zaměstnán
Danish: travl
Dutch: bezig, druk
Estonian: hõivatud
Finnish: kiireinen
French: occupé
German: beschäftigt
Greek: απασχολημένος
Hungarian: elfoglalt
Icelandic: upptekinn, önnum kafinn
Indonesian: banyak pekerjaan, sibuk
Italian: occupato
Japanese: 忙しい
Korean: 바쁜
Latvian: aizņemts; nevaļīgs
Lithuanian: užsiėmęs, užimtas
Norwegian: travel, opptatt
Polish: zajęty, zapracowany
Portuguese (Brazil): ocupado
Portuguese (Portugal): ocupado
Romanian: ocupat
Russian: занятой
Slovak: zamestnanie
Slovenian: zaposlen
Spanish: ocupado
Swedish: upptagen
Turkish: meşgul, işi var
busy2 [ˈbizi] adjective
full of traffic, people, activity etc
Example: The roads are busy; a busy time of year
Arabic: مُزْدَحِم
Chinese (Simplified): 没空的
Chinese (Traditional): 繁忙的,沒空的
Czech: rušný, živý
Danish: travl
Dutch: druk
Estonian: elav
Finnish: vilkas
French: animé
German: belebt
Greek: πολυσύχναστος, με έντονη δραστηριότητα
Hungarian: forgalmas, mozgalmas
Icelandic: iðandi; annasamur
Indonesian: ramai
Italian: affollato, movimentato
Japanese: 混んでいる
Korean: 밀려 있는
Latvian: dzīvs; rosīgs
Lithuanian: pilnas, judrus, įtemptas
Norwegian: med stor trafikk
Polish: ruchliwy
Portuguese (Brazil): movimentado
Portuguese (Portugal): movimentado
Romanian: aglomerat
Russian: интенсивный;оживлённый
Slovak: rušný
Slovenian: živahen
Spanish: concurrido
Swedish: livlig, full av rörelse (trafik)
Turkish: kalabalık, işlek
busy3 [ˈbizi] adjective
(especially American) (of a telephone line) engaged
Example: All the lines to New York are busy.
Arabic: مَشْغول
Chinese (Simplified): 占用着
Chinese (Traditional): 佔用著
Czech: obsazený
Danish: optaget
Dutch: bezet
Estonian: kinni
Finnish: varattu
French: occupé
German: besetzt
Greek: κατειλημμένος (για τηλεφωνική γραμμή)
Hungarian: foglalt (telefon)
Icelandic: upptekinn
Indonesian: penuh, sibuk
Italian: occupato
Japanese: 話し中で
Korean: 통화중인
Latvian: (par telefona līniju) aizņemts
Lithuanian: užimtas
Norwegian: opptatt
Polish: zajęty
Portuguese (Brazil): ocupado
Portuguese (Portugal): ocupado
Romanian: ocupat
Russian: занятый
Slovak: obsadený
Slovenian: zaseden
Spanish: ocupado
Swedish: upptagen
Turkish: meşgul
busy [ˈbizi] verb
(sometimes with with) to occupy (oneself) with
Example: She busied herself preparing the meal.
Arabic: يُشغِل نَفْسَه
Chinese (Simplified): 使忙碌
Chinese (Traditional): 使忙碌
Czech: zaměstnávat se
Danish: travl med; beskæftige sig med
Dutch: bezig zijn
Estonian: (millegagi) tegevuses olema
Finnish: puuhailla jonkin kimpussa
French: s'occuper (à)
German: sich beschäftigen mit
Greek: απασχολούμαι με κτ.
Hungarian: elfoglalja magát
Icelandic: láta sig varða, snúa sér að, annast
Indonesian: menyibukkan
Italian: occuparsi di*
Japanese: 忙しくする
Korean: 바쁘게 하다
Latvian: nodarbināt
Lithuanian: užsiimti
Norwegian: beskjeftige seg med
Polish: zajmować się, krzątać się
Portuguese (Brazil): ocupar-se com
Portuguese (Portugal): ocupar-se
Romanian: a se ocupa (de)
Russian: заниматься (чем-л.)
Slovak: zamestnať sa
Slovenian: ukvarjati se (z)
Spanish: ocuparse
Swedish: vara sysselsatt (upptagen) med
Turkish: oyalamak, meşgul etmek
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Busy, KY Zip code(s): 41723

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Busy

Busi"ness\, n.; pl. Businesses. [From Busy.]

1. That which busies one, or that which engages the time, attention, or labor of any one, as his principal concern or interest, whether for a longer or shorter time; constant employment; regular occupation; as, the business of life; business before pleasure.

Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? --Luke ii. 49.

2. Any particular occupation or employment engaged in for livelihood or gain, as agriculture, trade, art, or a profession. "The business of instruction." --Prescott.

3. Financial dealings; buying and selling; traffic in general; mercantile transactions.

It seldom happens that men of a studious turn acquire any degree of reputation for their knowledge of business. --Bp. Popteus.

4. That which one has to do or should do; special service, duty, or mission.

The daughter of the King of France, On serious business, craving quick despatch, Importunes personal conference. --Shak.

What business has the tortoise among the clouds? --L'Estrange.

5. Affair; concern; matter; -- used in an indefinite sense, and modified by the connected words.

It was a gentle business, and becoming The action of good women. --Shak.

Bestow Your needful counsel to our business. --Shak.

6. (Drama) The position, distribution, and order of persons and properties on the stage of a theater, as determined by the stage manager in rehearsal.

7. Care; anxiety; diligence. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

To do one's business, to ruin one. [Colloq.] --Wycherley.

To make (a thing) one's business, to occupy one's self with a thing as a special charge or duty. [Colloq.]

To mean business, to be earnest. [Colloq.]

Syn: Affairs; concern; transaction; matter; engagement; employment; calling; occupation; trade; profession; vocation; office; duty.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Busy

Bus"y\ (b[i^]z"z[y^]), a. [OE. busi, bisi, AS. bysig; akin to D. bezig, LG. besig; cf. Skr. bh[=u]sh to be active, busy.]

1. Engaged in some business; hard at work (either habitually or only for the time being); occupied with serious affairs; not idle nor at leisure; as, a busy merchant.

Sir, my mistress sends you word That she is busy, and she can not come. --Shak.

2. Constantly at work; diligent; active.

Busy hammers closing rivets up. --Shak.

Religious motives . . . are so busy in the heart. --Addison.

3. Crowded with business or activities; -- said of places and times; as, a busy street.

To-morrow is a busy day. --Shak.

4. Officious; meddling; foolish active.

On meddling monkey, or on busy ape. --Shak.

5. Careful; anxious. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Syn: Diligent; industrious; assiduous; active; occupied; engaged.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

BUSY

BUSY: in Acronym Finder

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