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

to bust

553 4.0
To break something so it does not work
  • verb
  • /bʌst/
  • Informal
translation icon : 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.

Autoplay Next

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
481 2.2

To hit something with great force and cause damage

is broader and can mean ordinary damage without collision
to crush
vsto bust
401 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
311 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
225 2.9

To badly damage or destroy something

is more general and can mean simple ruin without violent impact
to snap
vsto bust
167 2.3

Break suddenly and completely, often with a sharp noise

is the informal word that can mean damage without sudden noise
to burst
vsto bust
164 1.4

Break open suddenly because of pressure inside

is the informal way to describe damage that is not pressure driven
to crack
vsto bust
127 1.9

To make a sudden sharp sound like something breaking

is the informal term used for damage without focusing on sound
to rupture
vsto bust
95 6.8

To break open suddenly and violently

is used more broadly and not limited to violent splitting
to knock down
vsto bust
57 3.2

Make a building or wall fall down suddenly

is the general informal damage verb that need not imply collapse
to shatter
vsto bust
48 4.6

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

is more casual and can mean partial or repairable damage
to bust up
vsto bust
  • Informal
34 5.8

To break something into pieces by hitting it hard

is more general and can mean less forceful ruin in informal speech
to to smash
vsto bust
11 4.1

To completely destroy something, often hopes or plans

is the informal verb used for general damage, not only total ruin
to bang up
vsto bust
  • Informal
8 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
5 4.7

To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces

is less strictly violent and can mean general ruin
to frag
vsto bust
  • Slang
1 9.1

To break something into pieces

is the broader informal verb used outside niche slang contexts
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
to whack up
vsto bust
  • UK
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 booger up
vsto bust
  • Informal
9.9

To ruin something by a careless mistake

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

To ruin something by doing it badly

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

To spoil or ruin something by making a careless mistake

is the informal verb for damage but not limited to incompetence

Antonyms

to preserve
496 3.4

To keep people and things safe from harm or change

to repair
365 1.0

To fix something that is broken or not working

to restore
219 3.5

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

Idioms

to bust a cap
  • Offensive
10 9.9

Shoot someone with a gun, often during violence or threats

to bust a nut
  • Offensive
1 9.9

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

to bust someone's chops
  • Informal
1 9.0

To tease or nag someone, often in a playful way

Phrasal Verbs

to bust up
  • Informal
34 5.8

To break something into pieces by hitting it hard

to bust a move
  • Informal
11 8.9

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

to bust butt
  • Informal
9 9.4

To work very hard to finish a task

to bust my chops
  • Informal
7 9.3

To tease or criticize someone in a friendly way

to bust ass
  • NSFW
1 9.1

To work very hard to finish something

to bust on
  • Informal
1 8.1

To tease someone in a playful 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
14 3.1

An occasion 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

bust-up
  • UK
7.1

A serious argument that ends a friendship or other relationship

buy-and-bust operation
  • NSFW
7.6

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

drugs bust
  • NSFW
3.7

An event when police take illegal drugs and arrest people

How Damaging

to destroy
∞ 1.0
to ruin
∞ 2.0
to smash
311 2.1
to bust
  • Informal
553 4.0
to break
∞ 1.0
dent
46 1.0
scratch
203 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.