I. bust 1 /bʌst/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle bust British English , busted especially American English ) [transitive]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: burst ]
1 . BREAK informal to break something:
I bust my watch this morning.
Tony busted the door down.
2 . POLICE
a) if the police bust someone, they charge them with a crime:
He was busted by US inspectors at the border.
bust somebody for something
Davis got busted for drugs.
b) informal if the police bust a place, they go into it to look for something illegal:
Federal agents busted several money-exchange businesses.
3 . TRY HARD bust a gut ( also bust your butt/ass American English spoken ) informal to try extremely hard to do something:
I bust a gut trying to finish that work on time.
4 . MONEY American English informal to use too much money, so that a business etc must stop operating:
The trip to Spain will probably bust our budget.
5 . crime-busting/union-busting/budget-busting etc informal used with nouns to show that a situation is being ended or an activity is being stopped:
crime-busting laws
6 . ... or bust! informal used to say that you will try very hard to go somewhere or do something:
Idaho or bust!
7 . MILITARY especially American English to give someone a lower military rank as a punishment SYN demote
bust out phrasal verb informal
to escape from a place, especially prison
bust up phrasal verb informal
1 . British English if people bust up, they end their relationship or friendship SYN break up :
They bust up after six years of marriage.
⇨ ↑ bust-up (1)
2 . bust something ↔ up to prevent an illegal activity or bad situation from continuing SYN break up :
A couple of teachers stepped in to bust up the fight.
3 . bust something ↔ up American English to damage or break something:
A bunch of bikers busted up the bar.
4 . American English to start laughing a lot SYN crack up :
Elaine busted up laughing at the sight of him.
II. bust 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1-3: Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: buste , from Italian busto , from Latin bustum 'place where a body is buried, statue put by such a place' ]
[ Sense 4: Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ bust 1 ]
1 . a model of someone’s head, shoulders, and upper chest, usually made of stone or metal
bust of
a bust of Beethoven
2 . a woman’s breasts, or the part of her clothes that covers her breasts
3 . a measurement around a woman’s breast and back:
a 36-inch bust
4 . informal a situation in which the police go into a place in order to catch people doing something illegal:
a drug bust
⇨ boom to bust at ↑ boom 1 (1)
III. bust 3 BrE AmE adjective [not before noun]
[ Date: 1900-2000 ; Origin: From a past participle of ⇨ ↑ bust 1 ]
1 . go bust informal a business that goes bust cannot continue operating
2 . British English informal broken:
The television’s bust again.