/ bʌst; NAmE / verb , noun , adjective
■ verb ( bust , bust ) or ( bust·ed , bust·ed ) [ vn ] ( informal )
1.
to break sth :
I bust my camera.
The lights are busted.
Come out, or I'll bust the door down!
2.
bust sb/sth (for sth) ( of the police ) to suddenly enter a place and search it or arrest sb :
He's been busted for drugs.
3.
( especially NAmE ) to make sb lower in military rank as a punishment
SYN demote
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IDIOMS
- bust a gut (doing sth / to do sth)
- ... or bust
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PHRASAL VERBS
- bust up
- bust sth up
■ noun
1.
a stone or metal model of a person's head, shoulders and chest
2.
(used especially when talking about clothes or measurements) a woman's breasts or the measurement around the breasts and back :
What is your bust measurement, Madam?
3.
( informal ) an unexpected visit made by the police in order to arrest people for doing sth illegal :
a drug bust
4.
( NAmE ) a thing that is not good :
As a show it was a bust.
■ adjective [ not usually before noun ] ( informal )
1.
( BrE ) broken :
My watch is bust.
2.
( of a person or business ) failed because of a lack of money
SYN bankrupt :
We're bust!
We lost our money when the travel company went bust .
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WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 1 to 2 mid 17th cent. (denoting the upper part or torso of a large sculpture): from French buste , from Italian busto , from Latin bustum tomb, sepulchral monument.
verb and noun sense 3 adjective mid 18th cent. (originally US, as a noun in the sense an act of bursting or splitting ): variant of burst .