What does "bustle" mean?
An excited activity; a stir.
Bustle
/ˈbʌsəl/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An excited activity; a stir.
- Grammar: bustle is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ado, hustle, accelerate, activity.
- Useful contrasts: calm stillness, danish stilhed, desertlike silence.
- Usage evidence: Living in the noise and bustle of a large city, we sometimes feel like going into the country.
How to use "bustle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bustle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bustle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bustle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bustle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bustle" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ado" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bustle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An excited activity; a stir. countable, uncountable
"the whirl and bustle of a large metropolis"
- 2 a rapid active commotion wordnet
- 3 A cover to protect and hide the back panel of a computer or other office machine. countable
- 4 a framework worn at the back below the waist for giving fullness to a woman's skirt wordnet
- 5 A frame worn underneath a woman's skirt, typically only protruding from the rear as opposed to the earlier more circular hoops. countable, historical
"All the portraits that hang on the walls of the living room are, I realize, of my mother's family: miniatures of her great-aunts in Victorian bustles and elaborate feathered hats; a gilt-framed oil of her great-great-great-uncle as a boy in pastoral England, wearing a gold riding coat over white jodhpurs and sitting astride a white steed, a King Charles spaniel yapping at them from the foreground of the canvas."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Money; cash. UK, obsolete, slang, uncountable
"Why the old clerical's turned coper—a new way of raising the wind——letting his friends down easy—gave you a good dinner, I suppose, Sir John, and took this method of drawing the bustle for it: an old trick of the reverend's."
Verb
- 1 To move busily and energetically with fussiness (often followed by about).
"The commuters bustled about inside the train station."
- 2 move or cause to move energetically or busily wordnet
- 3 To teem or abound (usually followed by with); to exhibit an energetic and active abundance (of a thing).
"The train station was bustling with commuters."
- 4 To push around, to importune. transitive
"Don’t bustle her or fuss or snatch: / A suitor looking at his watch / Is not a posture that persuades / Willing, much less reluctant maids."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from German.
Antonyms
calm stillnessdanish stilheddesertlike silenceinner stillnesses
Example
"Living in the noise and bustle of a large city, we sometimes feel like going into the country."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bustle"?
Common synonyms include: ado, hustle, accelerate, activity, ado, agitation.
How do you use "bustle" in a sentence?
Living in the noise and bustle of a large city, we sometimes feel like going into the country.
How do you pronounce "bustle"?
Pronounced /ˈbʌsəl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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”).
Etymology 2
Possibly an Americanized spelling of South German Bastl or a variant of Bussell.