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bust

 - 10 dictionary results

bust

1  [buhst]
Use bust in a Sentence
–noun
1. a sculptured, painted, drawn, or engraved representation of the upper part of the human figure, esp. a portrait sculpture showing only the head and shoulders of the subject.
2. the chest or breast, esp. a woman's bosom.
Origin:
1685–95; < F buste < It busto, prob. < L būstum grave mound, tomb, lit., funeral pyre, ashes; presumably by assoc. with the busts erected over graves

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 bust
bust 1   (bŭst)   
n.  

  1. A sculpture representing a person's head, shoulders, and upper chest.

    1. A woman's bosom.

    2. 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. Slang

    1. 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).

    2. To render inoperable or unusable: busted the vending machine by putting in foreign coins.

    3. To place under arrest.

    4. To make a police raid on.

  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: "Too often, the promise of a high-tech design leads to a weapon that busts the budget" (Business Week).

  5. Slang To reduce in rank. See Synonyms at demote.

  6. To hit; punch.

  7. Slang

    1. To place under arrest.

    2. To make a police raid on.

v.   intr.

  1. Slang

    1. To undergo breakage; become broken.

    2. 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.  

  1. A failure; a flop: "The home-style bean curd is a bust, oily and rubbery" (Mark and Gail Barnett).

  2. A state of bankruptcy.

  3. 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).

  4. A punch; a blow.

  5. A spree: a fraternity beer bust.

  6. Slang

    1. An arrest.

    2. A raid.


[Variant of burst.]
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

  1. n.
    a failure. : The whole project was a bust from the beginning.
  2. tv.
    to reduce someone's rank. (Originally military, now also in civilian use as with the police.) : The brass busted her on the spot.
  3. n.
    a riotous drinking party. : There was a big bust in the park until two in the morning.
  4. n.
    a raid by the police. : I knew it was a bust the minute they broke in the door.
  5. tv.
    [for the police] to raid a place. : The bacon busted Bill's bar and put Bill in the slammer.
  6. tv.
    to arrest someone. : The feds finally busted Frank on a tax rap.
  7. n.
    an arrest. : The bust was carried off without much stress.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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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.
Cite This Source
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.

bust  (2)
variant of burst, 1764, Amer.Eng. Originally "frolic, spree;" sense of "sudden failure" is from 1842. The verb sense of "to burst" is first attested 1806; the slang meaning "demote" (especially in a military sense) is from 1918; that of "arrest" is from 1953. Buster is 1850, Amer.Eng. slang (originally Missouri/Arkansas) for something that takes one's breath away, hence "a roistering blade."
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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Idioms & Phrases

bust

In addition to the idioms beginning with bust, also see break (bust) one's ass; go broke (bust).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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