BUSTLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bustle mean? 

• BUSTLE (noun)
  The noun BUSTLE has 2 senses:

1. a rapid active commotion

2. a framework worn at the back below the waist for giving fullness to a woman's skirt

  Familiarity information: BUSTLE used as a noun is rare.

• BUSTLE (verb)
  The verb BUSTLE has 1 sense:

1. move or cause to move energetically or busily

  Familiarity information: BUSTLE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BUSTLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A rapid active commotion

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

ado; bustle; flurry; fuss; hustle; stir

Hypernyms ("bustle" is a kind of...):

commotion; din; ruckus; ruction; rumpus; tumult (the act of making a noisy disturbance)

Derivation:

bustle (move or cause to move energetically or busily)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A framework worn at the back below the waist for giving fullness to a woman's skirt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bustle" is a kind of...):

frame; framework (a structure supporting or containing something)

• BUSTLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they bustle    ... he / she / it bustles   
Past simple: bustled   
Past participle: bustled   
-ing form: bustling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move or cause to move energetically or busily

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

bustle; bustle about; hustle

Context example:

The cheerleaders bustled about excitingly before their performance

Hypernyms (to "bustle" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

"Bustle" entails doing...:

belt along; bucket along; cannonball along; hasten; hie; hotfoot; pelt along; race; rush; rush along; speed; step on it (move hurridly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence examples:

The crowds bustle in the streets
The streets bustle with crowds

Derivation:

bustle (a rapid active commotion)

 Context examples 

It was indeed our visitor of the afternoon who came bustling in, dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very perturbed expression upon his aristocratic features.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

And off she bustled, leaving me to settle myself in my new nest.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“My first movement Watson,” said he, as he bustled into his frockcoat, “must, as I said, be in the direction of Blackheath.”

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I allowed Adele to sit up much later than usual; for she declared she could not possibly go to sleep while the doors kept opening and shutting below, and people bustling about.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The day passed most pleasantly away; the morning in bustle and shopping, and the evening at one of the theatres.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

He pointed to a smallish, dark, well-dressed man who was bustling along the other side of the road.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“God help the Dutch public!” muttered my uncle, as the fat little man bustled off with his news to some new-comer.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I will, sire, I will!” cried the frightened host, and bustled from the room, while the soft, soothing voice of the woman was heard remonstrating with her furious companion.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

My father was in the meantime overjoyed, and, in the bustle of preparation, only recognised in the melancholy of his niece the diffidence of a bride.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

This was long before daybreak; and then they bustled away as quick as lightning.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)