English Meaning & Definitions
Having a great deal to do; actively engaged in work or a task.
- “I am too busy to go to the cinema tonight.”
- “The restaurant was incredibly busy during the lunch rush.”
To keep oneself occupied or engaged in a particular activity.
- “She busied herself with cleaning the kitchen while waiting for the guests.”
- “He busied his mind by reading historical novels.”
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “busy”.
Derived from the Old English 'bisig', meaning 'careful, anxious, or occupied'. It shares roots with the Middle Dutch 'besich'. Historically, it evolved from describing a state of being 'anxiously occupied' to the modern sense of having a great deal to do.
B-U-S-Y: Being Under Stress, Yet... (working)
Frequently Asked Questions About “busy”
1. What is the meaning of “busy” in English?
In English, busy (adjective) is defined as: “Having a great deal to do; actively engaged in work or a task.”.
2. How do you use “busy” in a sentence?
“I am too busy to go to the cinema tonight.”
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “busy”?
Derived from the Old English 'bisig', meaning 'careful, anxious, or occupied'. It shares roots with the Middle Dutch 'besich'. Historically, it evolved from describing a state of being 'anxiously occupied' to the modern sense of having a great deal to do.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →A measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.