Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Actively engaged in work or an activity; occupied: Describes a person who is involved in a task or has many things to do.
   • Full of activity or work: Describes a period of time, a place, or a life characterized by much happening.
   • (Of a telephone line) In use; unavailable: Describes a communication line that is currently occupied.
   • Excessively detailed or ornate: Describes something, like a design, that is overly complex or cluttered.
   • Meddlesome; prying: Describes a person who interferes in the affairs of others.

2. Verb (transitive):

   • To keep (oneself or someone) occupied with an activity: To engage in work or a task.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • She is a very busy doctor with a full schedule.
  • We had a busy week preparing for the conference.
  • The restaurant is always busy on Friday nights.
  • I tried to call, but the line was busy.
  • The wallpaper has a busy pattern that is hard to look at.

• Verb:

  • He busied himself in the garden all afternoon.
  • The teacher busied the students with a challenging project.

Advanced Usage

• "to be busy doing something": Actively engaged in a specific action.

  • She was busy writing her report and didn't hear the phone.

• "to be busy with something": Occupied with a particular task or object.

  • The children are busy with their homework.

• "as busy as a bee": An idiom meaning extremely industrious and active.

  • My grandmother is as busy as a bee, always baking or gardening.

Variants and Related Words

• Busily (adverb): In a busy manner.

  • The staff worked busily to finish before the deadline.

• Business (noun): Commercial activity; one's occupation or concern.

  • He runs a small business.

• Busyness (noun): The state or quality of being busy.

  • The busyness of the city can be overwhelming.

Synonyms

• Occupied: Engaged in an activity.
• Active: Characterized by energetic work or participation.
• Engaged: Involved in an activity; (British English) of a telephone line, busy.
• Industrious: Diligent and hard-working.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Busy" is not commonly used to form phrasal verbs. Its verbal use is typically followed by a reflexive pronoun and a preposition like "with" or "in.") - Busy oneself with/in: To occupy oneself with a task. - After retiring, he busied himself with volunteer work.

Related Idioms

• A busy signal: The audible tone indicating a telephone line is in use.

  • All I got was a busy signal when I tried to call.

• To have one's hands busy/full: To be very busy or have many responsibilities.

  • With three young children, she has her hands full.

Adjective

1. (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
2. crowded with or characterized by much activity
   • a very busy week
   • a busy life
   • a busy street
   • a busy seaport
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
4. overcrowded or cluttered with detail
   • a busy painting
   • a fussy design
5. actively or fully engaged or occupied
   • busy with her work
   • a busy man
   • too busy to eat lunch

Verb

1. keep busy with
   • She busies herself with her butterfly collection