busy
//ˈbɪz.i//
Forms
- Comparative
- busier
- Superlative
- busiest
- Plural
- busies
- present (v1)
- busy
- past (v2)
- busied
- past participle (v3)
- busied
- present participle
- busying
- 3rd person singular
- busies
Definitions
1.Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.
- Be careful crossing that busy street.
- To-morrow is a busy day.
- With hours to go before their labor contract expired, longshoremen on the East and Gulf Coasts prepared on Monday to go on strike at midnight, halting most activity at some of the busiest U.S. ports.
2.Engaged with or preoccupied by an activity or person.
- He is busy with piano practice.
- Her telephone has been busy all day.
- Ramzi is busy getting ready for meetings.
3.Having much work to do; having much to get done.
- Finding the time to work out and cook healthy meals is easily pushed to the wayside in our ordinary, busy lives.
4.Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate.
- Flowers, stripes, and checks in the same fabric make for a busy pattern.
1.A police officer.(slang)
1.To make somebody busy or active; to occupy.
- The work busied me all afternoon.
- They busied themselves with the tea.
- On my vacation I'll busy myself with gardening.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1806
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Uncommon
- General reading & writing
- Common
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Uncommon
Etymology
From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”).