bustling 1 of 2

adjective

ˈbəs-liŋ How to pronounce bustling (audio)
Definition of bustlingnext
1
as in busy
involved in often constant activity a bustling greeter was there to welcome guests to the grand opening

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in buzzing
marked by much life, movement, or activity a bustling shopping center during the Christmas season

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bustling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of bustle
1
as in bursting
to be copiously supplied on Saturdays the city's downtown bustles with activity as a farmers' market sets up shop

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2
as in hurrying
to proceed or move quickly the hostess bustled about, taking care of last-minute preparations for the party

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bustling
Adjective
West Side homeless encampment At the bustling encampment on West 45th Street at 11th Avenue, people shave with water from a hydrant and use strips of plastic and cardboard to find shade. — Dave Carlin, CBS News, 13 July 2026 While Baltimore still had a bustling downtown shopping scene on Howard Street, the business community saw the potential of new markets and shoppers who did not want to pay downtown parking fees or ride public transit. — Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 10 July 2026
Verb
During search operations, hundreds of onlookers and volunteers must be kept quiet enough in the middle of a bustling city to listen for the faintest sign of life. — CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 On an 1888 rolling historic Victorian estate just off the bustling South Congress Avenue, Hotel Saint Cecilia offers a lavish collection of 20 bungalows, suites, and studios enveloped in a lush canopy of trees. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bustling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bustling
  1. busy
  2. buzzing
  3. bursting
  4. hurrying
  5. engaged
  6. vibrant
  7. teeming
  8. traveling
Adjective
  • Also handily located for the railway station and the busy East Coast line that runs from London to Scotland.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Once the couple can fit the celebration into their busy schedules, Reba alum Melissa Peterman is ready to make their wedding cake.
    — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of busy
Adjective
  • Tucked away in a private backyard in Ashford, one of the state’s few apitherapy huts allows people to breathe in air from thousands of buzzing bees.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Over the decades, the equipment evolved into today’s version of the sport, featuring a beeping softball and four-foot-tall buzzing foam bases that guide players through sound.
    — Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of buzzing
Verb
  • The wealth of the richest Americans has torqued upward, bursting through the top of the graph, with no end in sight, completely untethered from the rest of the United States.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Murphy has built an empire by keeping a full-to-bursting pipeline of shows and returning to certain creative wells.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of bursting
Verb
  • That’s how Drake Maye ended his latest two-minute drill at Patriots training camp Monday, a meandering march that began around midfield and ended with Maye hurrying the offense to the 3-yard line with 10 seconds on the clock.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Set over the course of eight years (including the lockdown period during COVID), Herry’s film unfolds fluidly, neither hurrying scenes up unnecessarily, nor lingering too long on any incident.
    — Tomris Laffly, Variety, 17 May 2026
Definition of hurrying
Adjective
  • The content remained identical, but attendance immediately became more engaged because employees could no longer operate on autopilot.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Roberts and Ocasio-Cortez became engaged in 2022 in Puerto Rico, where the congresswoman's family has roots, according to Business Insider.
    — Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of engaged
Adjective
  • Today, Houston is at the center of a vibrant barbecue scene that offers those traditional styles alongside new ones influenced by Asian and Tex-Mex flavors.
    — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The result is a production that can make an audience dance one moment and sit with something deeper the next, creating a vibrant celebration of music and community.
    — Maya Santiago, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of vibrant
Verb
  • Shot across the teeming city streets and the majestic underground caves of Ireland, Bucking Fastard features operatic imagery from the director’s longtime cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Tucked into the southern end of the teeming, alluvial Willamette River valley, the region’s natural abundance began attracting farmers in the mid-nineteenth century.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 July 2026
Definition of teeming
Verb
  • The trucks wait until all those in the area are ready before traveling in convoys to packing plants, accompanied by police patrols to prevent robberies.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Murphy, traveling the country promoting his recent book and opining on the state of the Democrats, returned to Connecticut to boost Larson and trash Bronin.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of traveling

Browse Nearby Words

bustles
bustling
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Cite this Entry

“Bustling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bustling. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on bustling

Nglish: Translation of bustling for Spanish Speakers

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