# busy

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈbɪz.i/ · frequency rank #1,812

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

## 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.

## Easily confused with
- **by** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-by)
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-but)
- **buy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-buy)
- **butt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-butt)
- **buzz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-buzz)
- **buys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-buys)
- **bute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/busy-vs-bute)
- **BS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bs-vs-busy)
- **boy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boy-vs-busy)
- **bus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bus-vs-busy)
- **bay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bay-vs-busy)
- **bug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bug-vs-busy)
- **bud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bud-vs-busy)
- **bum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bum-vs-busy)
- **bun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bun-vs-busy)
- **bis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bis-vs-busy)
- **bey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bey-vs-busy)
- **BTS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bts-vs-busy)
- **BCS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bcs-vs-busy)
- **Bas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bas-vs-busy)

## Common misspellings (5)
`bbusy`, `bsuy`, `bussy`, `busyy`, `ubsy`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/busy