Definition of “busy” - English Dictionary

American
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“busy” in English

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busyadjective

uk ​ /ˈbɪz.i/ us ​ /ˈbɪz.i/

busy adjective (DOING THINGS)

A2 If you are busy, you are working hard, or giving your attention to a particular thing:

Mum was busy in the kitchen.
The kids are busy with their homework.
She's busy writing out the wedding invitations.
I've got plenty of jobs to keep you busy.
He was too busy talking to notice us come in.

A1 A busy place is full of activity or people:

a busy restaurant
Their house is near a very busy road.

A2 In a busy period, you have a lot of things to do:

I have a busy week ahead of me.
You've had a busy day.

› UK also engaged If a phone line is busy, someone is using it:

I tried calling you but the line was busy.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

busyness
noun [ U ] /ˈbɪz.i.nəs/ /ˈbɪz.i.nəs/

›

Some of us can handle more busyness and activity than others.
the busyness of the traffic

busyverb

uk ​ /ˈbɪz.i/ us ​ /ˈbɪz.i/

(Definition of “busy” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“busy” in American English

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busyadjective [ -er/-est only ]

us ​ /ˈbɪz·i/

› (of a person) actively involved in doing something or having a lot of things to do, or (of a time or place) when or where a lot of things are happening:

a busy street
the busy summer months
I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to have any social life.
Getting the house ready for her relatives kept her busy the whole day.

› If a telephone is busy, it is being used by someone else:

Her line is still busy.

busyverb [ T ]

/ˈbɪz·i/

› to make the time pass by doing something:

Aimee busied herself with a favorite book.

(Definition of “busy” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“busy” in Business English

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busyadjective

uk ​ /ˈbɪzi/ us ​

› working hard, or giving your attention to a particular thing:

too busy to do sth I have been far too busy to think about taking time off.
busy with sth/sb All our agents are currently busy with other customers.
busy doing sth While we were busy planning our expansion, he was planning to take over the company.
a busy man/woman/person I won't take up much of your time, because I know you're a busy woman.

› full of activity or people:

a busy office/restaurant/street
The shop is always busy on Saturdays.

› in a busy period, you have a lot of things to do:

a busy week/day/morning It’s been a busy week.

› UK also engaged COMMUNICATIONS if a telephone line is busy, someone is using it:

I tried calling the office, but the line was busy.

(Definition of “busy” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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