bust

See also: büst

English

WOTD – 19 January 2016

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbʌst/
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌst
  • Homophones: bussed, bused

Etymology 1

From French buste < Italian busto, from Latin būstum.

Noun

bust (plural busts)

  1. A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders.
  2. The breasts and upper thorax of a woman.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From a variant of burst. Compare German Low German basten and barsten (to burst).

Verb

bust (third-person singular simple present busts, present participle busting, simple past and past participle busted)

  1. (transitive, colloquial, chiefly US) To break.
    I busted my cooker while trying to fix it.
  2. (transitive, slang) To arrest (someone) for a crime.
  3. (transitive, slang) To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state.
  4. (snowboarding) An emphatic synonym of do or get.
    He busted huge air off that jump!
  5. (US, informal) To reduce in rank.
    He busted him down to patrolman for insubordination.
    • 1962, The Manchurian Candidate, 01:56:35
      If Steinkamp doesn't take off that hat and stop messing around, I'm gonna bust him into a PFC.
  6. (poker) To lose all of one's chips.
  7. (blackjack) To exceed a score of 21.
  8. (transitive, slang) To break in (an animal).
    • 1997, Charles Oswald, Gone with the Western Wind
      A few weeks later, Richard was killed accidentally while busting a wild mustang []
  9. (intransitive, slang) To ejaculate; to eject semen.
Synonyms
  • (to arrest for a crime): nick
Derived terms
Terms derived from bust (verb)
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Noun

bust (plural busts)

  1. (slang) The act of arresting someone for a crime, or raiding a suspected criminal operation.
    a narcotics bust
  2. (slang) A failed enterprise; a bomb.
  3. (sports, derogatory) A player who fails to meet expectations.
  4. (chess, informal) A refutation of an opening, or of previously published analysis.
Translations

Adjective

bust (not comparable)

  1. (slang) Without any money, broke, bankrupt.
    After months of financial problems, the company finally went bust.

Derived terms

Anagrams


Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin būstum.

Pronunciation

Noun

bust m (plural busts or bustos)

  1. bust (sculpture)
  2. bust (breasts and upper thorax)

Further reading


Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Verb

bust

  1. second- and third-person singular present indicative of bussen
  2. (archaic) plural imperative of bussen

Romanian

Noun

bust n (plural busturi)

  1. bust (sculpture)
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