abuzz

American  

[uh-buhz] / əˈbʌz /

adjective

1. buzzing.

2. full of or alive with activity, talk, etc..

   The company was abuzz with rumors about the new owner.

---

abuzz British  

/ əˈbʌz /

adjective

1. (postpositive) humming, as with conversation, activity, etc; buzzing

---

Etymology

Origin of abuzz

First recorded in 1855–60; a- ¹ + buzz

Explanation

If a room is abuzz, it's full of noise and chatter. An elementary school classroom is bound to be abuzz on the last day of school before summer. When a place is abuzz, it's bustling with activity and sounds, humming in a way that resembles the buzzing of bees. The whole town might be abuzz with excitement about a movie being filmed there, or your house could be abuzz with excited children during a birthday party. Charles Dickens is credited with the first written use of this adjective, in his 1859 novel "A Tale of Two Cities."

Example Sentences

A surreal drum duet between two East Asian world leaders has set the internet abuzz - and put a spotlight on Japan and South Korea's diplomatic relationship.

From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026

Earlier this year, the fashion world was abuzz when Nordstrom poached uber stylist Catherine Bloom from Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025

This past month, while options markets were abuzz with traders trying to find an arbitrage opportunity in shares of Warner Bros.

From Barron's • Dec. 18, 2025

Bill Kilgore, the crazed cavalry commander in the 1979 Vietnam War film, “Apocalypse Now,” crouched in a black Stetson hat in front of a flaming Chicago skyline abuzz with black helicopters.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

The queue was fairly abuzz with gossip and greetings, the pleasantries of long acquaintance or new.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson