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Webster 1913 Edition


Bustle

Bus′tle

(bŭs′s’l)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Bustled
(-s’ld);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Bustling
(-slĭng).]
[Cf. OE.
buskle
, perh. fr. AS.
bysig
busy,
bysg-ian
to busy + the verbal termination
-le
; or Icel.
bustla
to splash, bustle.]
To move noisily; to be rudely active; to move in a way to cause agitation or disturbance;
as, to
bustle
through a crowd
.
And leave the world for me to
bustle
in.
Shakespeare

Bus′tle

,
Noun.
Great stir; agitation; tumult from stirring or excitement.
A strange
bustle
and disturbance in the world.
South.

Bus′tle

,
Noun.
A kind of pad or cushion worn on the back below the waist, by women, to give fullness to the skirts; – called also
bishop
, and
tournure
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bustle

BUS'TLE

,
Verb.
I.
bus'l. [ This word may be allied to busy,or to L. festino.]
To stir quick; to be very active; to be very quick in motion, often or usually with the sense of noise or agitation.
And leave the world for me to bustle in.

BUS'TLE

,
Noun.
bus'l. Hurry; great stir; rapid motion with noise and agitation; tumult from stirring or agitation; combustion.
All would have been well without this bustle.

Definition 2024


bustle

bustle

English

Noun

bustle (plural bustles)

  1. An excited activity; a stir.
    • 1748. David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 34.
      we are, perhaps, all the while flattering our natural indolence, which, hating the bustle of the world, and drudgery of business seeks a pretence of reason to give itself a full and uncontrolled indulgence
  2. (computing) A cover to protect and hide the back panel of a computer or other office machine.
  3. (historical) A frame worn underneath a woman's skirt, typically only protruding from the rear as opposed to the earlier more circular hoops.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

bustle (third-person singular simple present bustles, present participle bustling, simple past and past participle bustled)

  1. To move busily and energetically with fussiness (often followed by about).
    The commuters bustled about inside the train station.
  2. To teem or abound (usually followed by with); to exhibit an energetic and active abundance (of a thing). See also bustle with.
    The train station was bustling with commuters.

Synonyms

Translations

References

  1. bustle in Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Anagrams