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bust
10 dictionary results for: bust
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
bust1       [buhst] Pronunciation Key
–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]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
bust2       [buhst] Pronunciation Key
–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 ass2, bass2, 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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bust 1       (bŭst)  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bust 2       (bŭst)  Pronunciation Key 
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.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
bust

adjective
1. lacking funds; "'skint' is a British slang term" [syn: broke] 

noun
1. a complete failure; "the play was a dismal flop" [syn: flop] 
2. the chest of a woman [syn: female chest] 
3. a sculpture of the head and shoulders of a person 
4. an occasion for excessive eating or drinking; "they went on a bust that lasted three days" 

verb
1. ruin completely; "He busted my radio!" [syn: break] [ant: bushel] 
2. search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on; "The police raided the crack house" [syn: raid] 
3. separate or cause to separate abruptly; "The rope snapped"; "tear the paper" [syn: tear] 
4. go to pieces; "The lawn mower finally broke"; "The gears wore out"; "The old chair finally fell apart completely" [syn: break] 
5. break open or apart suddenly and forcefully; "The dam burst" [syn: burst] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

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 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Wallstreet Words - Cite This Source - Share This

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 for Today's Investor by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bust

Bust\ (b[u^]st), n. [F. buste, fr. It. busto; cf. LL. busta, bustula, box, of the same origin as E. box a case; cf., for the change of meaning, E. chest. See Bushel.]

1. A piece of sculpture representing the upper part of the human figure, including the head, shoulders, and breast.

Ambition sighed: she found it vain to trust The faithless column, and the crumbling bust. --Pope.

2. The portion of the human figure included between the head and waist, whether in statuary or in the person; the chest or thorax; the upper part of the trunk of the body.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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