busy

When you're busy, you have things to do. You're occupied and probably not bored.

This word always means there's some kind of activity. When a phone line is busy, you can't get your call through. If you find the bathroom is busy, you'll have to wait it's free. When a supervisor is around, employees need to look busy. A busy intersection is loaded with traffic. If you're too busy playing basketball to finish your homework, your grades might suffer. It's good to be busy, but when people are too busy, they get stressed out.

Definitions of busy
  1. adjective
    actively or fully engaged or occupied
    “busy with her work”
    “a busy man”
    “too busy to eat lunch”
    Synonyms:
    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
    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
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    idle
    not in action or at work
    bone-idle, bone-lazy
    constitutionally lazy or idle
    faineant, indolent, lazy, otiose, slothful, work-shy
    disinclined to work or exertion
    lackadaisical
    idle or indolent especially in a dreamy way
    leisured
    free from duties or responsibilities
    unengaged
    not busy or occupied; free
    ineffective, ineffectual, uneffective
    not producing an intended effect
    unemployed
    not engaged in a gainful occupation
    show more antonyms...
  2. adjective
    (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”
    “kept getting a busy signal”
    synonyms: engaged, in use
    occupied
    held or filled or in use
  3. verb
    keep busy with
    “She busies herself with her butterfly collection”
    synonyms: occupy
    see moresee less
    types:
    potter, putter
    work lightly
    dabble, play around, smatter
    work with in an amateurish manner
    type of:
    work
    exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
  4. adjective
    crowded with or characterized by much activity
    “a very busy week”
    “a busy life”
    “a busy street”
    “a busy seaport”
    Synonyms:
    active
    full of activity or engaged in continuous activity
  5. adjective
    overcrowded or cluttered with detail
    “a busy painting”
    synonyms: fussy
    fancy
    not plain; decorative or ornamented
  6. adjective
    intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner
    “busy about other people's business”
    synonyms: busybodied, interfering, meddlesome, meddling, officious
    intrusive
    tending to intrude (especially upon privacy)
Word Family
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