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Bust

//ˈbʌst// adj, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Without any money, broke, bankrupt. not-comparable, slang

    "After months of financial problems, the company finally went bust."

Adjective
  1. 1
    lacking funds wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    The act of arresting someone for a crime, or raiding a suspected criminal operation. slang

    "a narcotics bust"

  2. 2
    A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders.
  3. 3
    an occasion for excessive eating or drinking wordnet
  4. 4
    A police raid or takedown of a criminal enterprise. slang
  5. 5
    A woman's breasts; the circumference of her chest measured around the breasts.
Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    a sculpture of the head and shoulders of a person wordnet
  2. 7
    A failed enterprise; a bomb. slang
  3. 8
    the chest of a woman wordnet
  4. 9
    A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis. slang
  5. 10
    a complete failure wordnet
  6. 11
    A disappointment. slang

    "Paris was a bust. They wouldn't even let us see the Mona Lisa."

  7. 12
    A player who fails to meet expectations. derogatory
  8. 13
    The downward portion of a boom and bust cycle; a recession.
  9. 14
    A spree, unrestrained revel, or wild party. dated, slang
Verb
  1. 1
    To break. US, colloquial, transitive

    "I busted my cooker while trying to fix it."

  2. 2
    break open or apart suddenly and forcefully wordnet
  3. 3
    To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime. slang, transitive

    "Aaron got busted by the feds for leaking confidential government documents on Reddit."

  4. 4
    go to pieces wordnet
  5. 5
    To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state. slang, transitive
Show 17 more definitions
  1. 6
    ruin completely wordnet
  2. 7
    To debunk, dispel (a belief). transitive

    "MythBusters"

  3. 8
    separate or cause to separate abruptly wordnet
  4. 9
    An emphatic synonym of do or get.

    "He busted huge air off that jump!"

  5. 10
    search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on wordnet
  6. 11
    To reduce in rank. US, informal

    "He busted him down to patrolman for insubordination."

  7. 12
    To undo a trade, generally an error trade, that has already been executed. transitive
  8. 13
    To lose all of one's chips.
  9. 14
    To exceed a score of 21.
  10. 15
    To break in (an animal). slang, transitive

    "A few weeks later, Richard was killed accidentally while busting a wild mustang […]"

  11. 16
    To break in (a woman or girl), to deflower slang, transitive

    "Smith hears Nancy's protests - "Don't ... no, please don't." - when Hicock menaces her with "You ever had a man?" Finding Hicock rubbing her thigh as she whimpers in fear, Smith confronts him about his intentions, and Hicock says, "First, I'm going to bust that little girl." Smith tells him no, but Hicock replies, "What do you care? You can bust her too.""

  12. 17
    To ejaculate; to eject semen or to squirt. intransitive, slang, vulgar

    "I busted a fat one just wackin' it to the selfie she sent me."

  13. 18
    For a headline to exceed the amount of space reserved for it. intransitive

    "The temptation to squeeze in a favourite headline that busts by using the flexibility of new technology is often very strong."

  14. 19
    To refute an established opening. slang

    "So is the King's Gambit really busted?"

  15. 20
    To shoot (a gun). slang, transitive

    "He busted his glock."

  16. 21
    To attack, hit or insult (someone). intransitive, slang

    "He's always busting on you."

  17. 22
    To do or perform; to move quickly. slang

    "Bust a left turn."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

Etymology 2

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

Etymology 3

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from French buste, from Italian busto (“torso, upper body”), from Latin bustum (“funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre, place where corpses are burned”). Perhaps shortened from Latin ambustum, neuter of ambustus (“scorched”), past participle of ambūrō (“burn all over, scorch”), from ambi- (“around”) + ūrō (“to burn”).

See also for "bust"

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