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busted - 3 dictionary results

bust

2  [buhst]
Use busted in a Sentence
–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 busted
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.]
bust·ed   (bŭs'tĭd)   
adj.  
  1. Slang
    1. Smashed or broken: busted glass; a busted rib.
    2. Out of order; inoperable: a busted vending machine.
  2. Bankrupt or out of funds: I'd offer to pay but I'm busted.
  3. Tamed or broken: a busted bronco.
  4. Slang Placed under arrest: a busted shoplifter.
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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