bustle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a rapid active commotion
    fuss; flurry; ado; stir; hustle.
  2. noun a framework worn at the back below the waist for giving fullness to a woman's skirt
  3. verb move or cause to move energetically or busily
    hustle; bustle about.
    • The cheerleaders bustled about excitingly before their performance

WordNet

Bus"tle intransitive verb
Etymology
Cf. OE. buskle, perh. fr. AS. bysig busy, bysg-ian to busy + the verbal termination -le; or Icel. bustla to splash, bustle.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bustled (); present participle & verbal noun Bustling ()
Definitions
  1. 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. Shak.
Bus"tle noun
Definitions
  1. Great stir; agitation; tumult from stirring or excitement.
    A strange bustle and disturbance in the world. South.
Bus"tle noun
Definitions
  1. 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. out of fashion by the 1900's

Webster 1913