Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - busy

(busier, busiest, busies, busying, busied) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. When you are busy, you are working hard or concentrating on a task, so that you are not free to do anything else. What is it? I’m busy... They are busy preparing for a hectic day’s activity on Saturday... Rachel said she would be too busy to come... Phil Martin is an exceptionally busy man. ADJ 2. A busy time is a period of time during which you have a lot of things to do. It’ll have to wait. This is our busiest time... Even with her busy schedule she finds time to watch TV... I had a busy day and was rather tired. = hectic ? quiet ADJ: usu ADJ n 3. If you say that someone is busy thinking or worrying about something, you mean that it is taking all their attention, often to such an extent that they are unable to think about anything else. Companies are so busy analysing the financial implications that they overlook the effect on workers... Most people are too busy with their own troubles to give much help. = preoccupied ADJ: v-link ADJ, oft ADJ -ing 4. If you busy yourself with something, you occupy yourself by dealing with it. He busied himself with the camera... She busied herself getting towels ready... For a while Kathryn busied herself in the kitchen. VERB: V pron-refl with n/-ing, V pron-refl -ing, V pron-refl 5. A busy place is full of people who are doing things or moving about. The Strand is one of London’s busiest and most affluent streets... The ward was busy and Amy hardly had time to talk. ADJ 6. When a telephone line is busy, you cannot make your call because the line is already being used by someone else. (mainly AM) I tried to reach him, but the line was busy. = engaged ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 7. see also busily