busy

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbɪz.i/ UK /ˈbɪz.i/ See IPA manual

Freq #736

Meanings

1

adj
Having a lot to do; actively working on something.

I'm too busy to talk right now.
2

adj
Full of activity or people.

The shopping mall is always busy on weekends.
3

adj
(of a phone line) already in use by someone else.

I tried to call her, but the line was busy.
4

adj
Having too much detail and looking cluttered.

The wallpaper pattern was too busy for such a small room.
5

verb
To keep yourself or someone occupied with an activity.

She busied herself with cleaning the kitchen.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · full of activity or people. heavy

3 adj · (of a phone line) already... engagedin use

4 adj · having too much detail and... fussy

5 verb · to keep yourself or someone... occupy

More swamped

Word family

Forms busiedbusierbusiesbusiestbusying

Derived forms busiheadbusily businessbusy-nessbusy-workbusybodybusyishbusynessembusyever-busynonbusysemibusy

Appears in

Phrases (5)

See all

busy day
a day full of activities or tasks

Adjective + noun
busy street
a street with a lot of traffic or people

Adjective + noun
busy road
a road with a large volume of traffic

Adjective + noun
busy station
a station with heavy passenger traffic

Adjective + noun
busy weekend
a weekend filled with many activities or commitments

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (4)

See all

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.

bisy Middle English bisiġ Old English *bisīg Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# busy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɪz.i/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɪz.i/
**Frequency rank:** 736

## Meanings
1. Having a lot to do; actively working on something.
2. Full of activity or people.
3. (of a phone line) already in use by someone else.
4. Having too much detail and looking cluttered.
5. To keep yourself or someone occupied with an activity.

## Examples
- I'm too busy to talk right now.
- The shopping mall is always busy on weekends.
- I tried to call her, but the line was busy.
- The wallpaper pattern was too busy for such a small room.
- She busied herself with cleaning the kitchen.

## Synonyms
- swamped

## Derived Forms
- busihead
- busily
- business
- busy-ness
- busy-work
- busybody
- busyish
- busyness
- embusy
- ever-busy
- nonbusy
- semibusy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: bisy
- Root: bisiġ
- Root: *bisīg

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Busy comes 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.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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