busking

busking — verb

1. to sing or play an instrument on a city street, outside a shop, or at a train st

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to sing or play an instrument on a city street, outside a shop, or at a train station, taking money that passersby choose to give.

Example

Kabir started busking in the city square after he lost his factory job.

started + busking + [location]

Élise earns extra money by busking outside the central library on Saturday afternoons.

Common collocations
  • go busking
  • busk for money
  • busk outside / in front of / near [place]
  • busk without a permit
  • busk on the street / subway / corner
Synonyms
  • perform

    much broader — busking is a specific type of public, donation-based performance

  • play

    requires a specific instrument as object ('play the guitar on the street'), whereas busking is intransitive

  • entertain

    general; busking specifies the public-street and donation context

Grammar Patterns

busk + (prepositional phrase indicating location)

go busking

Usage Note

Unlike regular employment, the money earned from busking is not a fixed wage — it depends entirely on the generosity of the audience. Frequently encountered in the pattern 'go busking' as in 'they went busking in Covent Garden'.

Common Mistakes

He busked a guitar on the street.
He busked on the street with a guitar.
busk is intransitive; the instrument is introduced with 'with', not as a direct object.
She busked pop songs for money.
She busked on the corner for money, singing pop songs.
busk does not take a song or music as a direct object.

busking — noun

Word family

  • busk
    verbB1
  • busker
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Busking and street performance largely overlap in meaning, but busking has a stronger association with music and singing, whereas street performance can include theatre, dance, acrobatics, or mime. Street entertainment is the broadest term, covering any act that draws a crowd outdoors — a balloon folder, a living statue, or a fire-eater all count. Performing in general (without 'street') lacks the donation-basis and public-space context entirely. In everyday use, a violinist playing Beethoven on a London Underground platform is busking; a theatre troupe putting on Shakespeare in a park is doing street performance; a juggler at a summer festival is providing street entertainment.

street performancebusking ↗street entertainmentperforming

Common collocations

Nouns

  • busking permit / licence
  • busking scene
  • busking spot / location
  • busking money / income

Phrases

  • go busking
  • make a living from busking
  • a licence for busking

Prepositions

  • busk on / in / outside / near
  • busking on / in / outside
  • income from busking
  • money from busking

Etymology

SpanishItalianFrenchEnglish

Busking traces back to the 19th century, probably from the Spanish verb buscar (to seek, to look for) via the expression buscar la vida (to look for a living). Italian buscare (to obtain, to gain) and French busquer (to seek, to prowl) are related. The word first appeared in English around the 1850s in London, describing the way poor entertainers would 'seek a living' on the streets.