Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense busts, present participle busting, past tense, past participle bustedlanguage note: The form bust is used as the present tense of the verb, and can also be used as the past tenseand past participle.
1. verb
If you bust something, you break it or damage it so badly that it cannot be used.
[informal]
They will have to bust the door to get him out. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: break, smash, split, crack More Synonyms of bust
2. verb [usually passive]
If someone is busted, the police arrest them.
[informal]
They were busted for possession of cannabis. [beVERB-ed]
Synonyms: arrest, catch, lift [slang], raid More Synonyms of bust
3. verb
If police bust a place, they go to it in order to arrest people who are doing something illegal.
[informal]
...police success in busting UK-based drug factories. [VERB noun]
Bust is also a noun.
Six tons of cocaine were seized last week in Panama's biggest drug bust.
4. adjective
A company or fund that is bust has no money left and has been forced to close down.
[informal, business]
It is taxpayers who will pay most of the bill for bailing out bust banks.
5.
See go bust
6. countable noun
A bust is a statue of the head and shoulders of a person.
...a bronze bust of the Queen. [+ of]
Synonyms: sculpture, carving, head More Synonyms of bust
7. countable noun
You can use bust to refer to a woman's breasts, especially when you are describing their size.
Good posture also helps your bust look bigger.
Synonyms: bosom, breasts, chest, front More Synonyms of bust
8. to bust a gut
More Synonyms of bust
bust in British English1
(bʌst)
noun
1.
the chest of a human being, esp a woman's bosom
2.
a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person
Word origin
C17: from French buste, from Italian busto a sculpture, of unknown origin
bust in British English2
(bʌst) informal
verbWord forms: busts, busting, busted or bust
1.
to burst or break
2.
to make or become bankrupt
3. (transitive)
(of the police) to raid, search, or arrest
the girl was busted for drugs
4. (transitive) US and Canadian
to demote, esp in military rank
5. (transitive) US and Canadian
to break or tame (a horse, etc)
6. (transitive) mainly US
to punch; hit
7. bust a gut
noun
8.
a raid, search, or arrest by the police
9. mainly US
a punch; hit
10. US and Canadian
a failure, esp a financial one; bankruptcy
11.
a drunken party
adjective
12.
broken
13.
bankrupt
14. go bust
Word origin
C19: from a dialect pronunciation of burst
bust in American English1
(bʌst)
noun
1.
a piece of sculpture representing the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a human body
2.
the human bosom; esp., the breasts of a woman
SIMILAR WORDS: breast
Word origin
Fr buste < It busto
bust in American English2
(bʌst)
Informal
verb transitive
1.
to burst or break
2.
to make penniless or bankrupt
3. US
to demote in rank
4. US
to tame (esp. broncos)
5. US
to hit
6. US
to arrest
7.
to make a raid (sense 2) on
verb intransitive
8.
to burst or break
9.
to become penniless or bankrupt
noun
10. US
a person or thing that is a total failure
11. US
a financial collapse; economic crash
12. US
a punch
13. US
a spree
14. US
an arrest
Derived forms
busted (ˈbusted)
adjective
Word origin
orig., dial. var. of burst
bust in Finance
(bʌst)
Word forms: (regular plural) busts
noun
(Finance: Economics)
A bust is a decrease in economic activity with declining growth and falling prices.
Finance ministries have cut taxes and boosted public spending, which has preventedthe biggest financial bust since the 1930s from triggering an economic catastrophe.
The bust was induced through the decline of lending standards during the boom and the inevitablebankruptcies that induce contraction of bank credit.
A bust is a decrease in economic activity with declining growth and falling prices.
boom
More idioms containing
bust
bust a gut
Examples of 'bust' in a sentence
bust
But it looks a busted flush already.
The Sun (2016)
Now we know they are a busted flush.
The Sun (2012)
We are busting a gut to get it here because we need it.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But it was busted by police after complaints from neighbours.
The Sun (2006)
In other languages
bust
British English: bust /bʌst/ NOUN
A bust is a statue of someone's head and shoulders.
...a bronze bust of the Queen.
American English: bust
Arabic: تـِمْثال نِصْفي
Brazilian Portuguese: busto
Chinese: 胸像
Croatian: bista
Czech: bysta
Danish: buste
Dutch: boezem
European Spanish: busto
Finnish: povi
French: buste
German: Büste
Greek: μπούστο
Italian: busto
Japanese: バスト
Korean: 여성의 가슴
Norwegian: byste
Polish: popiersie
European Portuguese: busto
Romanian: bust
Russian: бюст
Latin American Spanish: busto
Swedish: byst
Thai: รูปปั้นครึ่งตัว
Turkish: büst
Ukrainian: бюст
Vietnamese: tượng bán thân
British English: bust VERB
If you bust something, you break it or damage it so badly that it cannot be used.
They will have to bust the door to get him out.
American English: bust
Brazilian Portuguese: arrombar
Chinese: 打碎
European Spanish: romper
French: démolir
German: aufbrechen
Italian: sfasciare
Japanese: 破裂させる
Korean: 때려부수다
European Portuguese: arrombar
Latin American Spanish: romper
All related terms of 'bust'
bust-up
A bust-up is a serious quarrel, often resulting in the end of a relationship .
go bust
If a company goes bust , it loses so much money that it is forced to close down.
beer bust
an occasion on which a lot of beer is drunk
boom-bust
relating to a supposed cycle in which periods of prosperity and growth alternate with periods of recession
bust a gut
to work very hard at something
cocaine bust
an arrest for the possession of cocaine
boom and bust
relating to a supposed cycle in which periods of prosperity and growth alternate with periods of recession
boom-bust cycle
A boom-bust cycle is a series of events in which a rapid increase in business activity in the economy is followed by a rapid decrease in business activity, and this process is repeated again and again.
to bust a gut
To bust a gut means to work very hard trying to achieve something.
Chinese translation of 'bust'
bust
(bʌst)
vt
(inf, = break) 打破 (dǎpò)
(inf, = arrest) 逮捕 (dàibǔ)
n(c)
(= breasts) 胸部 (xiōngbù)
(= sculpture) 胸像 (xiōngxiàng) (尊, zūn)
adj
(inf, = broken) 坏(壞) (huài)
to go bust (inf)[company]破产(產) (pòchǎn)
1 (noun)
Definition
a woman's bosom
Her bust measurement is 38.
Synonyms
bosom
a flattering style that accentuates the bosom
breasts
chest
I crossed my arms over my chest.
front
2 (noun)
Definition
a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person
a bronze bust of Beethoven
Synonyms
sculpture
a collection of 20th-century sculptures
carving
It was a wood carving of a human hand.
head
1 (verb)
Definition
to burst or break
They will have to bust the door to get him out.
Synonyms
break
He fell through the window, breaking the glass.
smash
The bottle smashed against a wall.
split
In a severe gale the ship split in two.
crack
A gas main had cracked under my neighbour's garage.
Crack the salt crust and you will find the skin just peels off the fish.
burst
The driver lost control when a tyre burst.
She burst the balloon with a pin.
snap
The brake pedal had just snapped.
shatter
Safety glass won't shatter if it's broken.
fracture
You've fractured a rib.
splinter
The ruler cracked and splintered into pieces.
rupture
Tanks can rupture and burn in a collision.
break into fragments
2 (verb)
Definition
(of the police) to raid or search (a place) or arrest (someone)
They were busted for possession of cannabis.
Synonyms
arrest
Seven people were arrested for minor offences.
catch
Police say they are confident of catching the killer.
lift (slang)
raid
Fraud squad officers raided the firm's offices.
cop (slang)
nail (informal)
The police have been trying to nail him for years.
collar (informal)
As Kerr fled towards the exit, Boycott collared him.
nab (informal)
He stayed on the run for weeks before the authorities nabbed him.
feel your collar (slang)
(noun)
He was imprisoned after a drug bust.
Synonyms
arrest
information leading to the arrest of the bombers
capture
The shooting happened while the man was trying to evade capture.
raid
a raid on a house by thirty armed police
cop (slang)
idiom
See go bust
Additional synonyms
in the sense of burst
Definition
a sudden and violent occurrence or outbreak
The driver lost control when a tyre burst.She burst the balloon with a pin.
Synonyms
explode,
blow up,
break,
split,
crack,
shatter,
fragment,
shiver (archaic, literary),
disintegrate,
puncture,
rupture,
rend asunder,
tear apart,
fly open
in the sense of capture
Definition
the act of capturing or the state of being captured
The shooting happened while the man was trying to evade capture.
Synonyms
arrest,
catching,
trapping,
imprisonment,
seizure,
apprehension,
taking,
taking captive
in the sense of carving
Definition
a figure or design produced by carving stone or wood