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bust

bust

112 4.5
A complete failure of an event or plan
  • noun
  • /bʌst/
  • Informal
: fracaso
  • Well, folks, it looks like a bust.
  • boom and bust
  • boom and bust cycles
  • market booms and busts

At best it's more like a wild boom and bust ride through several perfect storms.

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Examples

  • But their bad luck was an inescapable part of the boom-and-bust cycle of all temperate grasslands.

    Academic text (2002)
  • I'm sorry to hear it went bust.

  • And then there was the great bust and sort of nothing in between.

  • Truth is, my old man went bust years ago, so...

  • What a bust that was.

  • I mean, what if his business goes bust?

  • With the recent dot-com bust, the number was now half that, and it was driving him nuts.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Critical legal studies boomed during the 1980s but have been going bust during the 1990s.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Finally it went bust.

  • The concert was such a bust that barely anyone showed up.

Synonyms

failure
vsbust
710 1.3

Not reaching what was planned or expected

is a stronger term for total, often public collapses
fiasco
vsbust
78 6.2

A complete embarrassing failure that happens suddenly and causes big problems

is total failure without the added public shame
debacle
vsbust
77 8.5

A sudden complete failure that causes public embarrassment or big loss

covers total failure but not necessarily sudden
flop
vsbust
31 4.3

A project or event that does not succeed

is the basic term for total failures of events or enterprises
dud
vsbust
  • Informal
20 4.7

Something that fails to work or please people

is about whole events or enterprises failing rather than single items
fizzle
vsbust
  • Informal
2 6.0

A failure that comes after a promising start

means complete failure even without a hopeful beginning
total bomb
vsbust
  • Informal
1 7.7

A thing such as a film or product that fails badly with people

applies more widely to any failed event or enterprise
flopper
vsbust
  • Offensive
8.2

Something that fails completely

is a general label for complete failures in events or projects
total shitbucket
vsbust
  • Offensive
9.9

A project, event, or thing that fails very badly

expresses the same failure but in neutral language

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Getting what you want after working hard

∞ 1.0

A win against an opponent or a difficult problem

191 3.3

A great victory or success that brings joy

Idioms

14 9.0

To tease or nag someone, often in a playful way

to bust a cap
  • Offensive
11 9.9

Shoot someone with a gun, often during violence or threats

to bust a nut
  • Offensive
5 9.9

To release semen during sex and used jokingly to show extreme excitement

Compounds

drug bust
  • NSFW
18 3.1

An occasion when police take illegal drugs and arrest people

bust-up
  • UK
1 7.1

A serious argument that ends a friendship or other relationship

A police action in which officers pretend to buy illegal drugs to arrest sellers

drugs bust
  • NSFW
1 3.7

An event when police take illegal drugs and arrest people

9.9

New owners sell a company's parts to pay the debt they used to buy it

How Successful

triumph
191 3.3
success
∞ 1.0
failure
710 1.3
bust
  • Informal
112 4.5
debacle
77 8.5
catastrophe
174 7.0

Surface Forms

bust singular
busts plural

Etymology

Bust meaning 'a complete failure' comes from the idea of being 'broken' or 'smashed' (think of something 'busted'), so a plan or show that fails is called a 'bust'.