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PlainSpell

busk

/bʌsk/verb, noun

busk is spelled B-U-S-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 75,877th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, busk means “To solicit money by entertaining the public in the street or in public transport” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in busk?

Letters4: B-U-S-K
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 6 million words; the 75,877th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is busk?

Busk appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 75,877th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce busk?

  • US /bʌsk/
  • /bʊsk/

Busk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-busk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with busk?

7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as busk from its last stressed vowel (/ʌsk/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of busk

  • busks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • busking participle, present
  • busked participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does busk mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    UKTo solicit money by entertaining the public in the street or in public transport.

  2. 2

    obsoleteTo sell articles such as obscene books in public houses etc.

  3. 3

    To tack, cruise about.

  4. 4

    ScotlandTo prepare; to make ready; to array; to dress.

  5. 5

    ScotlandTo go; to direct one's course.

noun

  1. 1

    A strip of metal, whalebone, wood, or other material, worn in the front of a corset to stiffen it.

  2. 2

    A corset.

  3. 3

    obsoleteA kind of linen.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Busk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
GermanStraßenmusik machen (to solicit money by entertaining the public)
Spanishactuar ambulantemente, ejecutar callejeramente (to solicit money by entertaining the public)
Frenchbusc (stiffening strip in the front of a corset)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does busk come from?

Apparently from French busquer or Spanish buscar.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after busk