And not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. --1 Tim. v. 13. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
busybody — 1520s, from BUSY (Cf. busy) + BODY (Cf. body) person … Etymology dictionary
busybody — [n] nosy, impertinent person backseat driver*, butt in*, buttinsky*, eavesdropper, fink*, fussbudget, gossip, intermeddler, intruder, meddler, newsmonger*, nosey parker*, rubberneck*, scandalmonger*, sidewalk superintendent*, snoop, snooper,… … New thesaurus
busybody — ► NOUN ▪ a meddling or prying person … English terms dictionary
busybody — [biz′ēbäd΄ē] n. pl. busybodies a person who mixes into other people s affairs; meddler or gossip … English World dictionary
busybody — [[t]bɪ̱zibɒdi[/t]] busybodies N COUNT (disapproval) If you refer to someone as a busybody, you are criticizing the way they interfere in other people s affairs. [INFORMAL] Some busybody tipped off the police, and they arrested someone … English dictionary
busybody — UK [ˈbɪzɪˌbɒdɪ] / US [ˈbɪzɪˌbɑdɪ] noun [countable] Word forms busybody : singular busybody plural busybodies informal showing disapproval someone who is very interested in other people s private lives and activities and tries to get involved in… … English dictionary
busybody — Used since the sixteenth century to describe someone who is meddlesome, and takes an unwanted interest in other people’s affairs. ‘Little busybody’ is said to a child aged six by an older boy in Villette, by Charlotte Brontë. In The Pleasure… … A dictionary of epithets and terms of address
busybody — noun Someone who interferes with others; one who is nosy, intrusive or meddlesome. Se that none of you suffre as a murtherer or as a thefe or an evyll doar or as a busybody in other mens matters. Syn: marplot, meddler, kibitzer, nosy parker … Wiktionary
busybody — bus|y|bod|y [ bızi,badi ] noun count INFORMAL someone who is very interested in other people s private lives and activities and tries to get involved in them in a way that is annoying: She s such an interfering busybody … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
busybody — noun (C) someone who is too interested in other people s private activities: You interfering old busybody! … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
