bustle

Meaning

Noun

1. An excited activity; a stir.
2. A cover to protect and hide the back panel of a computer or other office machine.
3. A frame worn underneath a woman's skirt, typically only protruding from the rear as opposed to the earlier more circular hoops.

Verb

1. To move busily and energetically with fussiness (often followed by about).
2. To teem or abound (usually followed by with); to exhibit an energetic and active abundance (of a thing).
3. To push around, to importune.

Synonyms

fuss

hurry

commotion

stir

tumult

hustle

uproar

ado

confusion

activity

noise

flurry

rush

pother

hubbub

trouble

turmoil

bustle about

prosperity

haste

crowd

disturbance

be busy

row

hasten

scurry

fluster

sizzle

vanity

sputter

clamour

potter about

agitation

hurry about

coil

disorder

make a fuss

huddle

hum

hunt

hurriedness

in full swing

liveliness

make haste

noisy

nuisance

outbreak

perturbation

potter

precipitance

precipitancy

precipitateness

rapidity

razzle-dazzle

restless

restlessness

riot

roar

romp

rowdiness

ruckus

ruction

ruffle

rummage

rumpus

running

🏃

rush about

rustle

scrimmage

scuffle

seethe

speed

swarm

throng

thronging

to-do

trepidation

turbulence

turnout

vitality

vivacity

welter

be active

be agitated

be flurried

be restless

busy oneself

hustle and bustle

move swiftly

run about

running about

be flustered

conflict

move quickly

be very busy

rapid movement

be bustling

be vivid

bustling about

Hunt

raise a fuss

be in a bustle

activeness

hurried search

animation

anxious

babel

bedlam

bestir oneself

bother

briskness

bustling

busying

buzz

cares

chaos

chase

clamor

clutter

confuse

consternation

contend

crawl

crowding

din

do

eclat

excitement

festivity

flee

flourishing

flutter

fracas

fray

furore

goings-on

hastiness

hob

hoopla

hubble

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbʌsəl/

Etymology

From Middle English bustlen, bustelen, bostlen, perhaps an alteration of *busklen (> Modern English buskle), a frequentative of Middle English busken (“to prepare; make ready”), from Old Norse búask (“to prepare oneself”); or alternatively from a frequentative form of Middle English busten, bisten (“to buffet; pummel; dash; beat”) + -le. Compare also Icelandic bustla (“to splash; bustle”).