5 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

busy

adjective

1: actively or fully engaged or occupied; "busy with her work"; "a busy man"; "too busy to eat lunch"; "the line is busy" [ant: {idle}]

2: overcrowded or cluttered with detail; "a busy painting"; "a fussy design" [syn: {fussy}]

3: intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner; "an interfering old woman"; "bustling about self-importantly making an officious nuisance of himself"; "busy about other people's business" [syn: {interfering}, {meddlesome}, {meddling}, {officious}, {busybodied}]

4: crowdedwith or characterized by much activity; "a very busy week"; "a busy life"; "a busy street"; "a busy seaport"

5: (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); "her line is busy"; "receptionists' telephones are always engaged"; "the lavatory is in use"; "kept getting a busy signal" [syn: {engaged}, {in use(p)}]

verb: keep busy with; "She busies herself with her butterfly collection" [syn: {occupy}] [also: {busied}, {busiest}, {busier}]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Busy \Bus"y\ (b[i^]z"z[y^]), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Busied} (b[i^]z"z[i^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Busying}.] [AS. bysgian.] To make or keep busy; to employ; to engage or keep engaged; to occupy; as, to busy one's self with books.

Be it thy course to busy giddy minds With foreign quarrels. --Shak.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Busy \Bus"y\ (b[i^]z"z[y^]), adjective [OE. busi, bisi, AS. bysig; akin to D. bezig, LG. besig; cf. Skr. bh[=u]sh to be active, busy.]

1. Engaged in some business; hard at work (either habitually or only for the time being); occupied with serious affairs; not idle nor at leisure; as, a busy merchant.

Sir, my mistress sends you word That she is busy, and she can not come. --Shak.

2. Constantly at work; diligent; active.

Busy hammers closing rivets up. --Shak.

Religious motives . . . are so busy in the heart. --Addison.

3. Crowded with business or activities; -- said of places and times; as, a busy street.

To-morrow is a busy day. --Shak.

4. Officious; meddling; foolish active.

On meddling monkey, or on busy ape. --Shak.

5. Careful; anxious. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Syn: Diligent; industrious; assiduous; active; occupied; engaged.

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

102 Moby Thesaurus words for "busy": absorb, active, arabesque, assiduous, at it, at work, attend to business, baroque, burden, bustling, busybody, chichi, complex, complicated, detailed, devote, diligent, divert, drive, elaborate, elegant, employ, employed, energetic, engage, engaged, engross, fag, fancy, fine, flamboyant, florid, flowery, forward, frilly, full of business, fussy, hard at it, hard at work, hectic, high-wrought, hustling, immerse, impertinent, in harness, industrious, inquisitive, intricate, involve, involved, keep busy, labored, lively, luxuriant, luxurious, meddlesome, meddling, mind the store, moresque, nosy, occupied, occupy, officious, on duty, on the go, on the hop, on the job, on the jump, on the move, on the run, oppress, ornate, ostentatious, overdrive, overelaborate, overelegant, overlabored, overtask, overtax, overwork, overworked, overwrought, pass the time, picturesque, presumptuous, pretty-pretty, prying, pushing, pushy, rich, rococo, self-appointed, snoopy, soak, spend, spend the time, sweat, task, tax, tied up, work, working

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

Busy, KY Zip code(s): 41723
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