Phrase guide

busy beaver

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈbɪzi ˈbiːvə/
  • General-American: /ˈbɪzi ˈbiːvɚ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Someone who is very busy or hard-working.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • Wow! Laundry, dishes, and errands, all in one day? You've been a busy beaver.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: busy bee

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A Turing machine that attains the maximum number of steps performed, or number of non-blank symbols finally on the tape, among all Turing machines in a certain class.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: computing, computing-theory, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.