busy

(bĭz'ē)
adj., -i·er, -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., -ied, -y·ing, -ies.
To make busy; occupy: busied myself preparing my tax return.

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

busily bus'i·ly adv.
busyness bus'y·ness n.

SYNONYMS   busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous. 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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Descriptive term for a print layout where the elements are excessive and seem to be fighting each other, thus detracting from the advertising message.

adjective

1. Involved in activity or work: employed, engaged, occupied. See action/inaction.
2. Excessively filled with detail: cluttered, crowded, fussy. See simple/complex.

verb

To make busy: employ, engage, occupy. See action/inaction.

Idioms beginning with busy:
busy as a beaver
busy work

See also get busy.

adj

Definition: active, on the go
Antonyms: idle, inactive, lazy

adj

Definition: engaged, at work
Antonyms: idle, quiet, unbusy, unemployed, unengaged

IN BRIEF: The state of being engaged in work or a task.

Rosa's day was filled with the busyness of business.

Tutor's tip: My "business" (work or activity) involves a lot of "busyness" (state of being busy).

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: The B-hand brushes back and forth across the side of the flat hand, palm down.

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noun
noun, Brit

A detective. (1904 —) .
M. Allingham I don't know 'ow long we've got before the busies come trampin' in (1948).

[From busy adjective.]

Previous:	buster, bust, business
Next:	butch, butcher's, butt

For a list of words related to busy, see:

• Active, Lively, Awake, or Limber

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See words rhyming with "busy."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Busy.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - travl, fortravlet, ivrig, optaget af
v. tr. - have travlt, have travlt med
n. - detektiv, snuser

idioms:

• busy oneself with    være travlt optaget af, have travlt med
• busy tone    optaget-tone

Nederlands (Dutch)
bezig, druk, actief, in gesprek (telefoon), in de weer, bemoeiziek, bezighouden, (mv) smerissen

Français (French)
adj. - affairé, énergique, chargé, de grande activité (une période), occupé (au téléphone)
v. tr. - s'appliquer/s'occuper à faire qch
n. - flic (fam)

idioms:

• busy oneself with    s'occuper à faire qch
• busy tone    tonalité occupé

Deutsch (German)
adj. - beschäftigt, rege, besetzt
v. - beschäftigen, sich beschäftigen
n. - (Am)(slang) Detektiv

idioms:

• busy oneself with    sich beschäftigen mit
• busy tone    Besetztzeichen

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - απασχολημένος, πολυάσχολος, δραστήριος, σφύζων, πολύβουος, με πολλή δουλειά/κίνηση, (για τηλεφωνική γραμμή) κατειλημμένη

idioms:

• busy oneself with    καταγίνομαι, απασχολούμαι με
• busy tone    ηχητικό σήμα κατειλημμένης γραμμής

Italiano (Italian)
occupato, indaffarato

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - atarefado, ocupado (telefone), movimentado

idioms:

• busy oneself with    ocupar-se com

Русский (Russian)
занятой, деловой

idioms:

• busy oneself with    заняться

Español (Spanish)
adj. - ocupado, atareado
v. tr. - ocupar, emplear
n. - policía, detective

idioms:

• busy oneself with    entretenerse
• busy tone    tono de ocupado

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sysselsatt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
忙碌的, 临时占用的, 热闹的, 使忙于, 侦探

idioms:

• busy oneself with    为...而忙碌
• busy tone    忙线中的声音, 忙音

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 忙碌的, 臨時佔用的, 熱鬧的
v. tr. - 使忙於
n. - 偵探

idioms:

• busy oneself with    為...而忙碌
• busy tone    忙線中的聲音, 忙音

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 바쁜, 번화한, 통화중인
v. tr. - ~을 바쁘게 하다
n. - 형사

idioms:

• busy oneself with    바쁘다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 忙しい, せっせと働く, おせっかいな, にぎやかな, 話し中の, 使用中の, ごてごてした
v. - 忙しくする

idioms:

• busy oneself with    ～で忙しく働く

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مشغول‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮עסוק, עסוק ב-, מלא פעילות, טרוד‬
v. tr. - ‮עבד או עסק ב-, היה עסוק ב-‬
n. - ‮בלש, שוטר (מדוברת)‬

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