Busy vs. Idle — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Busy and Idle
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Compare with Definitions
Busy
Having a great deal to do
He had been too busy to enjoy himself
Idle
Not employed or busy
Idle carpenters.
Busy
Excessively detailed or decorated
The lavish set designs are a little too busy
Idle
Disinclined to work or be active; lazy
“a man who could seem idle, ignorant, even incompetent, yet was able to understand and to express ... the instincts, good and bad, of the American majority” (Godfrey Hodgson).
Busy
Keep oneself occupied
She busied herself with her new home
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Idle
Not in use or operation
Idle hands.
Idle mills.
Busy
A police officer
I was picked up by the busies for possession
Idle
(Sports) Not scheduled to play a game
Both teams played today but will be idle tomorrow.
Busy
Engaged in activity, as work; occupied.
Idle
Being a period of time in which there is little or no activity
Passed idle hours watching TV.
Busy
Characterized by or sustaining much activity
A busy morning.
A busy street.
Idle
Lacking substance, value, or basis
Idle speculation.
Idle threats.
Busy
Being a busybody; meddlesome; prying.
Idle
To pass time without being engaged in purposeful activity
“The girls idled all day long, sending their tinkling laughter flowing up and down the street” (Alai).
Busy
Being in use, as a telephone line.
Idle
To move slowly or without purpose
“I drove past the workshop ... I idled along the driveway past the pole fence ... to Tyhee Road” (Tom Spanbauer).
Busy
Cluttered with detail to the point of being distracting
A busy design.
Idle
To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor or motor vehicle.
Busy
To make busy; occupy
Busied myself preparing my tax return.
Idle
To pass (time) without doing anything
Idle the afternoon away.
Busy
Crowded with business or activities; having a great deal going on.
Be careful crossing that busy street.
Idle
To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive
Layoffs that idled 1,000 factory workers.
A plant that was idled by a strike.
Busy
Engaged in activity or by someone else.
The director cannot see you now: he's busy.
Her telephone has been busy all day.
He is busy with piano practice.
They are busy getting ready for the annual meeting.
Idle
To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.
Busy
Having a lot going on; complicated or intricate.
Flowers, stripes, and checks in the same fabric make for a busy pattern.
Idle
A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle
An engine running quietly at idle.
Busy
Officious; meddling.
Idle
A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest
Set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.
Busy
To make somebody busy or active; to occupy.
On my vacation I'll busy myself with gardening.
Idle
(obsolete) Empty, vacant.
Busy
(transitive) To rush somebody. en
Idle
Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
Idle hours
My computer hibernates after it has been idle for 30 minutes.
Busy
A police officer.
Idle
Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
Idle workmen
Busy
Engaged in some business; hard at work (either habitually or only for the time being); occupied with serious affairs; not idle nor at leisure; as, a busy merchant.
Sir, my mistress sends you wordThat she is busy, and she can not come.
Idle
Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.
An idle fellow
Busy
Constantly at work; diligent; active.
Busy hammers closing rivets up.
Religious motives . . . are so busy in the heart.
Idle
Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.
An idle story;
Idle talk;
Idle rumor
Busy
Crowded with business or activities; - said of places and times; as, a busy street.
To-morrow is a busy day.
Idle
(obsolete) Light-headed; foolish.
Busy
Officious; meddling; foolish active.
On meddling monkey, or on busy ape.
Idle
(transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
Busy
Careful; anxious.
Idle
(intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.
To idle in an IRC channel
Busy
To make or keep busy; to employ; to engage or keep engaged; to occupy; as, to busy one's self with books.
Be it thy course to busy giddy mindsWith foreign quarrels.
Idle
(intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.
Busy
Keep busy with;
She busies herself with her butterfly collection
Idle
(mechanical engineering) The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine.
Busy
Actively or fully engaged or occupied;
Busy with her work
A busy man
Too busy to eat lunch
The line is busy
Idle
(gaming) An idle animation.
Busy
Overcrowded or cluttered with detail;
A busy painting
A fussy design
Idle
(gaming) An idle game.
Busy
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
Idle
Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren.
Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Down their idle weapons dropped.
This idle story became important.
Busy
Crowdedwith or characterized by much activity;
A very busy week
A busy life
A busy street
A busy seaport
Idle
Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
The idle spear and shield were high uphing.
Busy
(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
Idle
Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; as, idle workmen.
Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Idle
Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; as, an idle fellow.
Idle
Light-headed; foolish.
Idle
To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business.
Idle
To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; - often followed by away; as, to idle away an hour a day.
Idle
Run disconnected or idle;
The engine is idling
Idle
Be idle; exist in a changeless situation;
The old man sat and stagnated on his porch
He slugged in bed all morning
Idle
Not in action or at work;
An idle laborer
Idle drifters
The idle rich
An idle mind
Idle
Without a basis in reason or fact;
Baseless gossip
The allegations proved groundless
Idle fears
Unfounded suspicions
Unwarranted jealousy
Idle
Not in active use;
The machinery sat idle during the strike
Idle hands
Idle
Silly or trivial;
Idle pleasure
Light banter
Light idle chatter
Idle
Lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility;
Idle talk
A loose tongue
Idle
Not yielding a return;
Dead capital
Idle funds
Idle
Not having a job;
Idle carpenters
Jobless transients
Many people in the area were out of work
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