A new language, a new life
/ English Dictionary

BUSY

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

Irregular inflected forms: busied  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, busier  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, busiest  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

 I. (adjective) 

Comparative and superlative

Comparative: busier  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

Superlative: busiest  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

Sense 1

Meaning:

Crowded with or characterized by much activityplay

Example:

a busy seaport

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

active (full of activity or engaged in continuous activity)

Derivation:

busyness (the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Actively or fully engaged or occupiedplay

Example:

too busy to eat lunch

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

at work (on the job)

drudging; laboring; labouring; toiling (doing arduous or unpleasant work)

engaged; occupied (having ones attention or mind or energy engaged)

overbusy (too busy)

tied up (kept occupied or engaged)

up to (busy or occupied with)

Also:

diligent (characterized by care and perseverance in carrying out tasks)

employed (having your services engaged for; or having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary)

Antonym:

idle (not in action or at work)

Derivation:

busyness (the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Intrusive in a meddling or offensive mannerplay

Example:

busy about other people's business

Synonyms:

busy; busybodied; interfering; meddlesome; meddling; officious

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

intrusive (tending to intrude (especially upon privacy))

Sense 4

Meaning:

(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)play

Example:

kept getting a busy signal

Synonyms:

busy; engaged; in use

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

occupied (held or filled or in use)

Derivation:

busyness (the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Overcrowded or cluttered with detailplay

Example:

a fussy design

Synonyms:

busy; fussy

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

fancy (not plain; decorative or ornamented)

 II. (verb) 

Verb forms

Present simple: I / you / we / they busy  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it busies  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

Past simple: busied  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

Past participle: busied  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

-ing form: busying  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

Sense 1

Meaning:

Keep busy withplay

Example:

She busies herself with her butterfly collection

Synonyms:

busy; occupy

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "busy" is one way to...):

work (exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "busy"):

potter; putter (work lightly)

dabble; play around; smatter (work with in an amateurish manner)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

But I did not feel the inconvenience of the weather; my imagination was busy in scenes of evil and despair.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

He sank daily, and my mother and I had all the inn upon our hands, and were kept busy enough without paying much regard to our unpleasant guest.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

That's not as loud as traffic on a busy street.

(Noise, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

Up and around, but minimal active play; keeps busy with quieter activities.

(Lansky Performance Status 60, NCI Thesaurus)

They were as good and happy, as busy and cheerful as ever two children in the world were, only Snow-white was more quiet and gentle than Rose-red.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Potts added that the shorter time of onset for the VCD compared to that of lidocaine could be a distinct advantage in a busy emergency department setting.

(Better IV Insertion Device, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Before Curiosity began further investigating the high-silica area, it was busy scrutinizing the geological contact zone near Marias Pass, where a pale mudstone meets darker sandstone.

(Curiosity Rover Inspects Unusual Bedrock, NASA)

The researchers obtained vehicle exhaust from a busy street in downtown Toronto and concentrated the fine particles before delivering them through an oxygen-type mask.

(Combatting epigenetic effects from outdoor air pollution, NIH)

I can remember her all through her beautiful life for she was but a girl when she married, and little more when I can first recall her busy fingers and her gentle voice.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The senseless body was thrown across the spare horse, the four sprang to their saddles, and away they thundered with loose reins and busy spurs through the swarming camp.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)




YOU MAY ALSO LIKE


© 2000-2024 Titi Tudorancea Learning | Titi Tudorancea® is a Registered Trademark | Terms of use and privacy policy | Contact