burst also bursted; bursting
1
: to break open, apart, or into pieces usually from impact or from pressure from within
the balloon burst
the pipes burst
2
a
: to give way from an excess of emotion
my heart will burst
b
: to give vent suddenly to a repressed emotion
burst into tears
burst out laughing
3
4
: to be filled to the breaking point
bursting with excitement
a crate bursting with fruit
1
: to cause to burst
burst a balloon
2
a
: to force open (something, such as a door or a way) by strong or vigorous action
b
: to flood over
the river burst its banks
3
: to produce by or as if by bursting
1
2
: an act of bursting
the burst of a bubble
a burst of confidence
3
: a result of bursting
had the plumber fix the burst
especially, firearms
: a visible puff accompanying the explosion of a shell (see shell entry 1 sense 9b)
Synonyms
Examples of burst in a Sentence
Verb
Two of the water pipes burst.
He burst a blood vessel.
The doors suddenly burst open.
The cops burst the door open.
He burst into the room.
The sun burst through the clouds.
She burst through the door and yelled “Surprise!”.
Noun
She ran hard in short bursts toward the end of the race.
the burst of a bubble
Recent Examples on the Web
William Mullane, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Apr. 2024
The zipper sadly burst open when Beckham went to the toilet.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
Our forest, bursting with bird song and vivid light before, transformed into a different realm — at first slowly and then all at once.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
Profits at the largest corporations will surge and the oligarchs’ wallets will swell to bursting, but the average worker will be struggling to eat and not die in a Dickensian workplace brought to you by the GOP.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Authorities in the Russian city of Orenburg called on residents to evacuate immediately on Friday due to rapidly rising flood waters after major rivers burst their banks due to a deluge of melting snow.
—Reuters, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
Much like a Mentos mint popped into a Coke bottle, the pressure is bubbling and potentially set to burst.
—Bychloe Berger, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
Floods began after Europe’s third-longest river, the Ural, was swelled by snow melt, bursting its banks and causing a deluge in dozens of towns and cities along the border.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Instead of floral pattern plates, try solid plates against a vibrant floral tablecloth, topped with floral glassware and a centerpiece that’s bursting with flowers.
—Monika Biegler Eyers, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2024
USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
The burst of industry-specific safeguards is likely to cheer the president’s union audience Wednesday.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
For much of the past four decades, this tug of war between wages and inflation has been a near stalemate, punctuated by short bursts of progress when Americans’ real pay went up.
—Leonardo Bevilacqua, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Apr. 2024
Lemon and parsley add a burst of fresh flavor just before serving.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
If the Earth were in the line of fire of a gamma-ray burst within 10,000 light years, or 10% of the diameter of the galaxy, the burst would severely damage the ozone layer.
—Chris Impey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
But even Musselman knows the initial burst of a new era means so much for a program that has never quite been able to sustain the energy.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Considered our solar system's largest explosive events, solar flares occur when magnetic energy associated with sunspots is released, creating intense bursts of radiation.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
Robert Maher, a gunfire acoustics expert at Montana State University in the United States, who analyzed the footage for CNN, said that the bursts indicated heavy automatic gunfire at 600 rounds per minute.
—Katie Polglase, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Verb
Many news headlines have asserted that there’s no hope for NFTs—the bubble has burst, and the millions of tokens minted have no monetary value.
—William Mullane, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Apr. 2024
The zipper sadly burst open when Beckham went to the toilet.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
Our forest, bursting with bird song and vivid light before, transformed into a different realm — at first slowly and then all at once.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024
Profits at the largest corporations will surge and the oligarchs’ wallets will swell to bursting, but the average worker will be struggling to eat and not die in a Dickensian workplace brought to you by the GOP.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Authorities in the Russian city of Orenburg called on residents to evacuate immediately on Friday due to rapidly rising flood waters after major rivers burst their banks due to a deluge of melting snow.
—Reuters, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024
Much like a Mentos mint popped into a Coke bottle, the pressure is bubbling and potentially set to burst.
—Bychloe Berger, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
Floods began after Europe’s third-longest river, the Ural, was swelled by snow melt, bursting its banks and causing a deluge in dozens of towns and cities along the border.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024
Instead of floral pattern plates, try solid plates against a vibrant floral tablecloth, topped with floral glassware and a centerpiece that’s bursting with flowers.
—Monika Biegler Eyers, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2024
Noun
Millennials 'just can't catch a break' Many millennials were in school when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, entered the workforce during the late-2000s Great Recession and were entering their peak working years when COVID hit and largely shut down the economy.
—USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
The burst of industry-specific safeguards is likely to cheer the president’s union audience Wednesday.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
For much of the past four decades, this tug of war between wages and inflation has been a near stalemate, punctuated by short bursts of progress when Americans’ real pay went up.
—Leonardo Bevilacqua, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Apr. 2024
Lemon and parsley add a burst of fresh flavor just before serving.
—Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
If the Earth were in the line of fire of a gamma-ray burst within 10,000 light years, or 10% of the diameter of the galaxy, the burst would severely damage the ozone layer.
—Chris Impey, Discover Magazine, 8 Apr. 2024
But even Musselman knows the initial burst of a new era means so much for a program that has never quite been able to sustain the energy.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Considered our solar system's largest explosive events, solar flares occur when magnetic energy associated with sunspots is released, creating intense bursts of radiation.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024
Robert Maher, a gunfire acoustics expert at Montana State University in the United States, who analyzed the footage for CNN, said that the bursts indicated heavy automatic gunfire at 600 rounds per minute.
—Katie Polglase, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'burst.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near burst
Cite this Entry
“Burst.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burst. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
burst
1 of 2 verb
burst; bursting
1
a
: to break open or in pieces (as by an explosion from within)
the balloon burst
buds bursting open
b
: to cause to burst
2
a
: to suddenly show one's feelings
burst into tears
b
: to begin to do something suddenly
burst into song
3
: to come or go suddenly
burst into the room
4
: to be filled to the breaking point
just bursting with energy
burst
2 of 2 noun1
: a sudden release or effort
a burst of speed
2
: a firing of many shots at the same time
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