bust
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bust 1
(bŭst)n.
1. A sculpture representing a person's head, shoulders, and upper chest.
2.
a. A woman's breasts.
b. The human chest.
[French buste, from Italian busto, possibly from Latin bustum, sepulchral monument.]
bust 2
(bŭst)v. bust·ed, bust·ing, busts
v.tr.
1. Informal
a. To smash or break, especially forcefully: "Mr. Luger worked it with a rake, busting up the big clods, making a flat brown table" (Garrison Keillor).
b. To render inoperable or unusable: busted the vending machine by putting in foreign coins.
2. To cause to come to an end; break up: an attempt to bust the union.
3. To break or tame (a horse).
4. To cause to become bankrupt or short of money: "Unwatched overhead could bust us in a year's time" (Louis Auchincloss).
5. Informal
a. To place under arrest.
b. To make a police raid on.
6. Slang To reduce in rank; demote.
7. Slang To hit; punch.
v.intr.
1. Slang
a. To undergo breakage; become broken.
b. To burst; break: "Several companies have threatened to bust out of their high-wage contracts by the dubious technique of declaring bankruptcy" (Washington Post).
2. To become bankrupt or short of money.
3. Games To lose at blackjack by exceeding a score of 21.
n.
Idioms: 1. A failure; a flop: "The home-style bean curd is a bust, oily and rubbery" (Mark and Gail Barnett).
2. A time or period of widespread financial depression: "Bankers consider the region's diversified economy to be good protection against a possible real estate bust" (American Banker).
3. Slang A punch; a blow.
4. Informal A spree: a fraternity beer bust.
5. Informal
a. An arrest.
b. A raid.
bust a nut Vulgar Slang
To have an orgasm.
bust (one's) ass/balls/butt Vulgar Slang
To make a strenuous effort; work very hard.
bust (someone's) balls/chops
1. Vulgar Slang To make extreme or unreasonable demands of someone.
2. To harass or scold someone.
go bust
To go bankrupt.
[Variant of burst.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bust
(bʌst)n
1. (Anatomy) the chest of a human being, esp a woman's bosom
2. (Art Terms) a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person
[C17: from French buste, from Italian busto a sculpture, of unknown origin]
bust
(bʌst)vb, busts, busting, busted or bust
1. to burst or break
2. to make or become bankrupt
3. (Law) (tr) (of the police) to raid, search, or arrest: the girl was busted for drugs.
4. (Military) (tr) US and Canadian to demote, esp in military rank
5. (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) (tr) US and Canadian to break or tame (a horse, etc)
6. (tr) chiefly US to punch; hit
7. bust a gut See gut9
n
8. (Law) a raid, search, or arrest by the police
9. chiefly US a punch; hit
10. US and Canadian a failure, esp a financial one; bankruptcy
11. a drunken party
adj
12. broken
13. (Banking & Finance) bankrupt
14. go bust to become bankrupt
[C19: from a dialect pronunciation of burst]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
bust1
(bʌst)n.
1. a representation of the upper part of the human figure, esp. the head and shoulders.
2. the chest or breast, esp. a woman's bosom.
[1685–95; < French buste < Italian busto]
bust2
(bʌst)v.i. Informal.
1. to burst.
2. to break or separate; split (usu. fol. by up).
3. to go bankrupt.
4. to collapse from the strain of making a supreme effort.
v.t. 5. Informal.
a. to burst.
b. to bankrupt; ruin financially.
6. to demote, esp. in military rank.
7. to tame; break: to bust a bronco.
8. Slang.
a. to place under arrest.
b. to subject to a police raid.
9. Informal.
a. to hit.
b. to break: I fell and busted my arm.
10. to damage or destroy (usu. fol. by up).
n. 11. a failure.
12. Informal. a hit; sock; punch.
13. a sudden economic decline; depression.
14. Slang.
a. an arrest.
b. a police raid.
15. Informal. a drinking spree; binge.
adj. 16. Informal. bankrupt; broke.
usage: Historically bust is derived from a dialect pronunciation of burst and is related to it much as cuss is related to curse. As both noun and verb bust has a wide range of meanings. A few, as “a decline in economic conditions, depression,” are standard.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
breast
– bust – bosom1. 'breast'
A woman's breasts are the two soft, round pieces of flesh on her chest that can produce milk to feed a baby.
...a beggar girl with a baby at her breast.
...women with small breasts.
2. 'bust'
A woman's breasts can be referred to as her bust, especially when you are talking about their size. Note that bust refers to both breasts together. You do not talk about a woman's 'busts'.
She has a very large bust.
Bust is also used to talk about the measurement around the top part of a woman's body at the level of her breasts.
'Bust 34' means that the garment is a size 12.
3. 'bosom'
A woman's breasts can also be referred to as her bosom /'bʊzəm/. This is an old-fashioned or literary word.
...hugging the cat to her bosom.
bust
Bust can be a verb, an adjective, or a noun. The past tense and past participle of the verb is either bust or busted.
1. used as a verb
If you bust something, you break or damage it so badly that it cannot be used. Note that you only use bust with this meaning in conversation. You do not use it in formal writing.
She found out about Jack busting the double-bass.
In informal English, if someone is busted, the police arrest them.
They were busted for possession of cannabis.
2. used as an adjective
In conversation, if you say that something is bust, you mean that it is broken or very badly damaged.
That clock's been bust for weeks.
Note that in American English, the adjective is busted not 'bust'.
There he found a small writing table with a busted leg.
If a company goes bust, it loses so much money that it is forced to close down. You do not use this expression in formal English.
The company almost went bust in February.
3. used as a noun
A woman's bust is her breasts.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
bust
Past participle: bust
Gerund: busting
| Imperative |
|---|
| bust |
| bust |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
bust
1. A sculpture of the upper part of the human body.
2. To score more points than needed to win. The player forfeits the rest of his or her turn and the points thus scored.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | bust - a complete failure; "the play was a dismal flop" failure - an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose; "the surprise party was a complete failure" |
| 2. |  bust - the chest of a woman female body - the body of a female human being | |
| 3. | bust - a sculpture of the head and shoulders of a person sculpture - a three-dimensional work of plastic art | |
| 4. |  bust - an occasion for excessive eating or drinking; "they went on a bust that lasted three days"piss-up - vulgar expression for a bout of heavy drinking | |
| Verb | 1. | bust - ruin completely; "He busted my radio!" fall apart, wear out, bust, wear, break - go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely" break down - cause to fall or collapse |
| 2. | bust - search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on; "The police raided the crack house" | |
| 3. | bust - separate or cause to separate abruptly; "The rope snapped"; "tear the paper" disunite, separate, part, divide - force, take, or pull apart; "He separated the fighting children"; "Moses parted the Red Sea" lacerate - cut or tear irregularly | |
| 4. | bust - go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely" | |
| 5. | bust - break open or apart suddenly and forcefully; "The dam burst" shatter - break into many pieces; "The wine glass shattered" come apart, break, split up, fall apart, separate - become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart" | |
| Adj. | 1. |  bust - lacking funds; "`skint' is a British slang term"poor - having little money or few possessions; "deplored the gap between rich and poor countries"; "the proverbial poor artist living in a garret" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
bust
1noun
bust
2 (Informal)verb
go bust go bankrupt, fail, go under, break, be ruined, be wound up, go to the wall, be liquidated, go into receivership, go into liquidation, become insolvent, cease trading Hundreds of restaurants went bust last year.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
bust
verb2. Slang. To come open or fly apart suddenly and violently, as from internal pressure:
5. To undergo sudden financial failure:
Informal: fold.
7. To hit with a quick, sharp blow of the hand:
1. One that fails completely:
Slang: bomb.
2. The condition of being financially insolvent:
3. A quick, sharp blow, especially with the hand:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
арестувамбюст
bystaprsarozbítrozbitýzašít
bustegået i stykkerknaldesprængeanholde
povipystiratsiarikkoarintakuva
bista
bedöglött
barmurbrjóstmynd
バスト
여성의 가슴
apcietinat, arestētcupakrušutēlskrūtisuzlauzt
bustazatknúť a uväzniť
byst
รูปปั้นครึ่งตัว
tượng bán thân
bust
1 [bʌst]bust
2 [bʌst]A. ADJ
1. (= broken) → estropeado, escacharrado (Sp)
C. VT
1. (= break) → destrozar, escacharrar (Sp)
to bust a gut → echar los bofes
to bust one's ass (US) → ir de culo
to bust a gut → echar los bofes
to bust one's ass (US) → ir de culo
2. (Police) (= arrest) → agarrar, trincar (Sp) ; (= raid) → hacer una redada en
the police busted him for drugs → la policía lo agarró por cuestión de drogas, la policía lo trincó por cuestión de drogas (Sp)
the police busted the place → la policía hizo una redada en el local
the police busted him for drugs → la policía lo agarró por cuestión de drogas, la policía lo trincó por cuestión de drogas (Sp)
the police busted the place → la policía hizo una redada en el local
3. (esp US) (= demote) [+ police officer] → degradar
bust up
A. VT + ADV [+ marriage, friendship] → romper
B. VI + ADV [friends] → reñir, pelearse
to bust up with sb (= quarrel) → reñir or pelearse con algn; (= break up) → romper con algn
to bust up with sb (= quarrel) → reñir or pelearse con algn; (= break up) → romper con algn
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
bust
[ˈbʌst] adj
(= broken) → fichu(e)
adv
to go bust → faire faillite
to go bust → faire faillite
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
bust
1bust
2 vb: pret, ptp <bust> (inf)n (US: = failure) → Pleite f (inf)
vt
(= break) → kaputt machen (inf); to bust something open → etw aufbrechen; to bust a gut → sich (dat) → den Arsch aufreißen (sl); he just about bust a gut doing it → er hat sich (dat) → dabei fast einen abgebrochen (inf); don’t bust my chops! (US: expressing annoyance and disbelief) → na, na, na! (inf), → jetzt hör aber auf! (inf)
(= catch, convict) → hinter Schloss und Riegel bringen; drugs ring, syndicate → auffliegen lassen (inf); he got busted for driving without a license (US) → er ist ohne Führerschein erwischt worden
(US Mil: = demote) → degradieren (to zu)
vi (= break) → kaputtgehen (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
bust
1 [bʌst] n (bosom) → petto, seno (Art) → bustobust up vt + adv (fam) → sfasciare
bust
2 [bʌst] (fam)2. vt
a. = burst 2
b. (Police) (arrest) → pizzicare, beccare; (raid) → fare irruzione in
c. (break) → scassare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
bust1
(bast) noun1. a woman's chest. She has a very small bust.
2. a sculpture of a person's head and shoulders. a bust of Julius Caesar.
bust2
(bast) – past participle bust or busted – verb (slang).
1. to arrest someone. Two drug dealers were busted in a police raid.
2. to break something. The firemen busted the door.
get busted be arrested. They got busted while selling the drugs.
bust3
(bast) adjective (slang) broken; not working. The zip is bust; Try that phone. This one is bust.
go bust become bankrupt. When the project failed the company went bust.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
bust
→ تـِمْثال نِصْفي bysta buste Büste μπούστο busto povi buste bista busto バスト 여성의 가슴 boezem byste popiersie busto бюст byst รูปปั้นครึ่งตัว büst tượng bán thân 胸像Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
bust
n busto, pechoEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.