busy

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   crowded with or characterized by much activity

   a very busy week

2. 2
   adj

   actively or fully engaged or occupied

   They kept busy with their work.

3. 3
   adj

   (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)

4. 4
   adj

   overcrowded or cluttered with detail

   a busy painting

5. 5
   verb

   to keep busy with

   I busied my children with the coloring books.

6. 6
   adj

   Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.

   Be careful crossing that busy street.

7. 7
   adj

   Engaged with or preoccupied by an activity or person.

   The director cannot see you now: he's busy.

8. 8
   adj

   Having much work to do; having much to get done.

   Near-synonym: swamped

Etymology

From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig (“busy”), Low German besig (“busy”). The spelling with ⟨u⟩ represents the pronunciation of the West Midland and Southern dialects while the Modern English pronunciation with /ɪ/ is from the dialects of the East Midlands.