Bust

/bʌst/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive, colloquial, chiefly US) To break..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive, colloquial, chiefly US) To break.
2. (transitive, slang) To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime.
3. (transitive, slang) 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.
4. (transitive) To debunk, dispel (a belief).
5. (snowboarding) An emphatic synonym of do or get.
6. (US, informal) To reduce in rank.
7. (finance, transitive) To undo a trade, generally an error trade, that has already been executed.
8. (poker) To lose all of one's chips.

Example Sentences

I busted my cooker while trying to fix it.

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

MythBusters

He busted huge air off that jump!

He busted him down to patrolman for insubordination.

If Steinkamp doesn't take off that hat and stop messing around, I'm gonna bust him into a PFC.

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

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."

Synonyms for bust

Antonyms for bust

Related Words

Word Forms

• busts
• busting
• busted
• bust
• buss

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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