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Glite Dictionary
💥 To break 🚓 To arrest ❌ A failure 👩 A woman's chest 🗿 A head sculpture 💸 Out of money 🎉 A big party
to bust

to bust

532 4.0
To break something so it does not work
  • verb
  • /bʌst/
  • Informal
: romper
  • Anyway, let's just let's bust it open real quick.

The liner and all this water busted out and it blew out the backyard.

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Examples

  • Now, let me bust that up for you right now.

    Maybe I Do (2023)

  • Good thing I didn't really bust anything, or I would have been in jail a long time.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I think I busted it last night.

    Bloodletting (1997)

  • When was the last time you were busted?

    Dirty Harry (1971)

  • And we needed to bust the shame and blame and stigma.

  • We nearly, as my teenage sons used to say, busted a gut laughing.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • When he died, he didn't have any children, and his relatives busted up his estate.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "And even if you do make it when you're 30, "your body's all busted up "and you gotta find a new career."

    What Happens Later (2023)

  • I've got things I've learned today, just this morning, that I'm busting to share with you...

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I accidentally bust my phone screen when I dropped it on the floor.

Synonyms

to break
vsto bust
∞ 1.0

To change a large bill into smaller bills

is the informal word used instead of the neutral term
to blow
vsto bust
∞ 3.5

To break suddenly because of pressure or too much electricity

is the general informal verb for damage beyond overload cases
to crash
vsto bust
637 2.2

To hit something with great force and cause damage

is broader and can mean ordinary damage without collision
to crush
vsto bust
346 1.6

To press something hard so it breaks or loses its shape

is broader and not limited to damage caused by pressing
to smash
vsto bust
278 2.1

To break something into many pieces using great force

is similar but can also mean less severe informal damage
to wreck
vsto bust
233 2.9

To badly damage or destroy something

is more general and can mean simple ruin without violent impact
to burst
vsto bust
176 1.4

Break open suddenly because of pressure inside

is the informal way to describe damage that is not pressure driven
to shatter
vsto bust
143 4.6

Cause deep pain to someone's feelings and destroy their hopes

is more casual and can mean partial or repairable damage
to rupture
vsto bust
92 6.8

To break open suddenly and violently

is used more broadly and not limited to violent splitting
to snap
vsto bust
81 2.3

Break suddenly and completely, often with a sharp noise

is the informal word that can mean damage without sudden noise
to crack
vsto bust
59 1.9

To make a sudden sharp sound like something breaking

is the informal term used for damage without focusing on sound
to bust up
vsto bust
  • Informal
52 5.8

To break something into pieces by hitting it hard

is more general and can mean less forceful ruin in informal speech
to knock down
vsto bust
49 3.2

Make a building or wall fall down suddenly

is the general informal damage verb that need not imply collapse
to bang up
vsto bust
  • Informal
44 7.6

Damage something badly, often by hitting or dropping it

is the casual word for damage without always implying severe violence
to smash up
vsto bust
  • Informal
27 4.7

To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces

is less strictly violent and can mean general ruin
to to smash
vsto bust
27 4.1

To completely destroy something, often hopes or plans

is the informal verb used for general damage, not only total ruin
to frag
vsto bust
  • Slang
3 9.1

To break something into pieces

is the broader informal verb used outside niche slang contexts
to whack up
vsto bust
  • UK
2 8.3

To divide something into parts, for example by cutting it or by sharing it among people

is more general and can mean ruin without dividing into parts
to bollix
vsto bust
  • Slang
1 9.9

To ruin something by doing it badly

is more general and can mean accidental or intentional damage
to bollocks
vsto bust
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To spoil or ruin something by making a careless mistake

is the informal verb for damage but not limited to incompetence
to booger up
vsto bust
  • Informal
1 9.9

To ruin something by a careless mistake

is the informal damage verb that also covers deliberate harm
to busticate
vsto bust
  • Slang
9.9

Make something stop working by hitting or dropping it

is a colloquial way to say this rather than a formal one

Antonyms

to preserve
504 3.4

To keep people and things safe from harm or change

to repair
338 1.0

To fix something that is broken or not working

to restore
261 3.5

Return something like a painting or building to its original working condition

Idioms

to bust someone's chops
  • Informal
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

Phrasal Verbs

to bust up
  • Informal
52 5.8

To break something into pieces by hitting it hard

to bust ass
  • NSFW
44 9.1

To work very hard to finish something

to bust butt
  • Informal
14 9.4

To work very hard to finish a task

to bust a move
  • Informal
13 8.9

To dance with a lot of energy to show skill or have fun

to bust on
  • Informal
8 8.1

To tease someone in a playful way

to bust my chops
  • Informal
7 9.3

To tease or criticize someone in a friendly way

to bust the drug ring
  • NSFW
1 7.2

To break up an illegal group that sells drugs, usually by police

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

buy-and-bust operation
  • NSFW
1 7.6

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

bust-up takeover
  • Archaic
9.9

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

How Damaging

to destroy
∞ 1.0
to ruin
∞ 2.0
to smash
278 2.1
to bust
  • Informal
532 4.0
to break
∞ 1.0
dent
51 1.0
scratch
170 1.6

Surface Forms

bust infinitive
busted past
busted past participle
busting present participle
busts third person singular

Etymology

Bust as a verb meaning 'to break' is an informal form like burst and means 'to smash' or split, so to bust something is simply to break it.