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BUSTER

 - 7 dictionary results

bust⋅er

  [buhs-ter]
Use BUSTER in a Sentence
–noun Informal.
1. a person who breaks up something: crime busters.
2. something that is very big or unusual for its kind.
3. a loud, uproarious reveler.
4. a frolic; spree.
5. (initial capital letter) (used as a familiar term of address to a man or boy who is an object to the speaker's annoyance or anger): Look, Buster, you're standing in my way!
Origin:
1825–35, Americanism; bust 2 + -er 1

Bus⋅ter

  [buhs-ter]
–noun
a male given name.

bust

2  [buhst]
–verb (used without object)
1. Informal.
a. to burst.
b. to go bankrupt.
c. to collapse from the strain of making a supreme effort: She was determined to make straight A's or bust.
2. Cards.
a. Draw Poker. to fail to make a flush or straight by one card.
b. Blackjack. to draw cards exceeding the count of 21.
–verb (used with object)
3. Informal.
a. to burst.
b. to bankrupt; ruin financially.
4. to demote, esp. in military rank or grade: He was busted from sergeant to private three times.
5. to tame; break: to bust a bronco.
6. Slang.
a. to place under arrest: The gang was busted and put away on narcotics charges.
b. to subject to a police raid: The bar has been busted three times for selling drinks to minors.
7. Informal.
a. to hit.
b. to break; fracture: She fell and busted her arm.
–noun
8. a failure.
9. Informal. a hit; sock; punch: He got a bust in the nose before he could put up his hands.
10. a sudden decline in the economic conditions of a country, marked by an extreme drop in stock-market prices, business activity, and employment; depression.
11. Slang.
a. an arrest.
b. a police raid.
12. Informal. a drinking spree; binge.
13. Cards.
a. a very weak hand.
b. Bridge. a hand lacking the potential to take a single trick.
–adjective
14. Informal. bankrupt; broke.
—Verb phrase
15. bust up, Informal.
a. to break up; separate: Sam and his wife busted up a year ago.
b. to damage or destroy: Soldiers got in a fight and busted up the bar.
—Idioms
16. bust ass, Slang: Vulgar. to fight with the fists; strike or thrash another.
17. bust on, Slang.
a. to attack physically; beat up.
b. to criticize or reprimand harshly.
c. to make fun of or laugh at; mock.
d. to inform on.
18. bust one's ass, Slang: Vulgar. to make an extreme effort; exert oneself.
Origin:
1755–65; var. of burst, by loss of r before s, as in ass 2 , bass 2 , passel, etc.

Usage note:
Historically bust is derived from a dialect pronunciation of burst and is related to it much as cuss is related to curse. Bust is both a noun and a verb and has a wide range of meanings for both uses. Many are slang or informal. A few, as “a decline in economic conditions, depression,” are standard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To BUSTER
bust·er   (bŭs'tər)   
n.  

  1. One that breaks up something: a crime buster.

  2. A broncobuster.

  3. A particularly robust child.

  4. A baby buster.

  5. Informal Fellow. Used in addressing a man or boy, especially out of annoyance: Watch where you're going, buster!

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
bust (so)

  1. tv.
    to cause lovers to separate; to break up a pair of lovers, including married persons. (Bust is a nonstandard form of burst meaning “break (apart)” here.) : Mary busted up Terri and John.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

bust  (1)
1691, "sculpture of upper torso and head," from Fr. buste, from It. busto "upper body," from L. bustum "funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre," perhaps shortened from ambustum, neut. of ambustus "burned around," pp. of amburere "burn around, scorch," from ambi- "around" + urere "to burn." Sense development in It. probably from Etruscan custom of keeping dead person's ashes in urn shaped like the person when alive. Meaning "bosom" is 1819; busty is first attested 1944.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Financial Dictionary

bust

To cancel an order after it has been filled. In most cases, cancellation occurs only under unusual circumstances, such as an error or a misunderstanding. Also called break.

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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