busy

/ˈbɪz.i/

//ˈbɪz.i// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"busy" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“busy” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,812. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,812
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.

Corpus desk

Index EN-busy · busy · English

busy · rank #1,812 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,812
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH billion

Nearest frequency peer: billion (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “busy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “busy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

busy vs by
50% similar
busy vs but
50% similar
busy vs buy
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for busy
PropertyValue
Headwordbusy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈbɪz.i/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,812
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “busy”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).busylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “billion” (#1,811), “buying” (#1,813), “believed” (#1,810). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “busy” is #1,812. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around busy (IPA /ˈbɪz.i/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,812 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for busy, with forms such as "bbusy", "bsuy", and "bussy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "but", "buy", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig (“busy”), … The correct English form is busy, spelled B-U-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.
  2. 2
    Engaged with or preoccupied by an activity or person.
  3. 3
    Having much work to do; having much to get done.
  4. 4
    Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate.
  5. 5
    Officious; meddling.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how busy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Be careful crossing that busy street.
  2. To-morrow is a busy day.

Etymology

From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig (“busy”), Low German besig (“busy”). The spelling with ⟨u⟩ represents the pronunciation of the West Midland and Southern dialects while the Modern English pronunciation with /ɪ/ is from the dialects of the East Midlands.

Synonyms

swamped

This word in other languages

ocupado(Español)occupé(Français)beschäftigt(Deutsch)ocupado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbusy
  • bsuy
  • bussy
  • busyy
  • ubsy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of busy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bbusy1bsuy2bussy1busyy1ubsy2
Edit distance from "busy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "busy"?
"busy" is spelled B-U-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɪz.i/.
What does "busy" mean?
As an adjective, "busy" means: Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.
What words are commonly confused with "busy"?
"busy" is commonly confused with "by", "but", "buy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "busy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "busy" is /ˈbɪz.i/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "busy"?
From Middle English bisy, busie, from Old English bisiġ (“busy, occupied, diligent”), from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg (“diligent; zealous; busy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian biesich (“active, diligent, hard-working, industrious”), Dutch bezig ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "busy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

wake#1,807ends#1,822farm#1,824file#1,825

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

raise5 variantsapple5 variantsrare5 variantsonto5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list