bust

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈbəst 

1

art : a sculptured representation of the upper part of the human figure including the head and neck and usually part of the shoulders and breast

has a bust of Abraham Lincoln in his office

2

: the upper part of the human torso between neck and waist

especially : the breasts of a woman

her bust size

bust

2 of 4

verb

busted also bust; busting

transitive verb

1

a

: to break or smash especially with force

bust a window

also : to make inoperative

busted my watch

b

: to bring an end to : break up

helped bust trusts

—Newsweek

—often used with up

better not try to bust up his happy marriage

—Forbes

c

: to ruin financially

the game of cheaters, which has busted more men than blackjack

—Arthur Mayse

d

: exhaust, wear out

—used in phrases like bust one's butt to describe making a strenuous effort

e

: to tease or give a hard time to

—often used in phrases like bust one's chops

I'm just busting your chops.

2

: tame

bronco busting

3

: demote

busted them to the bottom of the seniority list

—Time

4

slang

a

: arrest

busted for carrying guns

—Saul Gottlieb

b

: raid

busted the apartment

5

: hit, slug

felt like busting him in the face

6

informal : to execute or perform (a difficult, elaborate, or acrobatic movement, as when dancing)

bust a dance move

Hot Hot Heat's jittery, caffeinated rhythms and disco grooves are helping persuade punk kids to bust a move …

—Christian Hoard

intransitive verb

1

: to go broke

2

a

: burst

laughing fit to bust

b

: break down

Her camera busted.

3

a

card games : to lose at cards by exceeding a limit (such as the count of 21 in blackjack)

b

poker : to fail to complete a straight (see straight entry 4 sense 3) or flush

bust

3 of 4

noun (2)

1

a

: spree

b

: a hearty drinking session

a beer bust

2

a

: a complete failure : flop

b

economics : a business depression (see depression sense 2)

boom and bust

3

: punch, sock

a good bust on the nose

—J. T. Farrell

4

law enforcement, slang

a

: a police raid (see raid entry 1 sense 2b)

b

: arrest sense 1

made a couple of drug busts

bust

4 of 4

adjective

variants or busted

ˈbə-stəd 

economics : bankrupt, broke

go bust

Synonyms

Verb

• break
• degrade
• demote
• disrate
• downgrade
• reduce

Noun (2)

• bang
• bash
• bat
• beat
• belt
• biff
• blow
• bop
• box
• buffet
• chop
• clap
• clip
• clout
• crack
• cuff
• dab
• douse [British]
• fillip
• hack
• haymaker
• hit
• hook
• knock
• larrup [dialect]
• lash
• lick
• pelt
• pick
• plump
• poke
• pound
• punch
• rap
• slam
• slap
• slug
• smack
• smash
• sock
• spank
• stinger
• stripe
• stroke
• swat
• swipe
• switch
• thud
• thump
• thwack
• wallop
• welt
• whack
• wham
• whop
• whap

Examples of bust in a Sentence

Verb

He busted his watch when he fell.

I think the camera is busted.

Police busted 12 gang members on weapons charges.

She got busted for drug possession.

Two students got busted by the teacher for smoking in the bathroom.

Noun (2)

delivered a bust to the boxer's chops

the first movie was a hit, but the sequel was an unexpected bust

those lowlifes were nabbed for drug dealing in a massive bust last month

a bunch of underage kids having a beer bust while the parents were away for the weekend

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Many on the list, which was shared with NPR, were for environmental justice projects, including one grant that supported initiatives such as flood mitigation in southwest Virginia, a deep red part of the commonwealth where communities have been shaped by the coal industry's booms and busts. —Michael Copley, NPR, 23 Apr. 2025

The semiconductor industry isn’t new to booms and busts. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025

Verb

Back in March, the Brazilian siblings shared an Instagram video of the onetime White House advisor, reportedly a blue belt, busting some serious self-defense moves on the mat. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025

At the start of the year, investors grew concerned the AI boom would turn bust after learning that Chinese startup DeepSeek developed a large language model that is purportedly as advanced as the dominant competitors, but requires much less energy and money. —Julie Coleman, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2025

Adjective

And last year, when Silicon Valley Bank—favored by startups—was about to go bust, the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, came to its customers’ rescue. —Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Foreign Affairs, 7 May 2024

And while those payments crimped Spotify’s profits, and the company has lately struggled to sell stock investors on a convincing growth story, Spotify is also not about to go bust. —Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from French & Italian; French buste "part of the torso above the waist," going back to Middle French, borrowed from Italian busto "tree trunk" (15th-century Upper Italian), "part of the torso above the waist, corset, sculpture or painting representing the head and upper body," going back to Vulgar Latin *būstis "trunk," perhaps alteration of Latin fūstis "stick, rod, cudgel" by crossing with a Celtic word of like meaning

Note: Outcomes of *būstis in Italy with the meaning "trunk" are attested in Upper Italian and to a limited degree in the south (see Lessico etimologico italiano); outside of Italy compare Old Occitan bustz "torso," Romansh (Engadine) büst, (Surselvan [dialect of the upper Rhine]) best "tree trunk, torso, body, bodice," Romanian buşteán "tree trunk." The traditional etymology of Italian busto connects it with classical Latin bustum "funeral pyre, burial mound" but the improbable notion of a transfer in sense from "burial mound" to "representation of the upper body" is not supported by the Romance evidence, which shows a clear progression "tree trunk" > "trunk of the body."

Verb

variant of burst entry 1 with assimilatory loss of /r/ before /s/

Note: See note at hoss

Noun (2)

derivative of bust entry 2

Adjective

from predicative use of bust entry 3

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1645, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1639, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Noun (2)

1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Adjective

1836, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bust

• baby bust
• bust a/one's gut
• bust out
• bust out (something)
• bust someone's chops
• bust (something) out
• bust up
• go bust
• or bust

Rhymes for bust

• bused
• crust
• cussed
• dust
• fussed
• fust
• gust
• just
• lust
• mussed
• must
• rust

Kids Definition

bust

1 of 3 noun

ˈbəst 

1

: a piece of sculpture representing the upper part of the human figure including the human head and neck

2

: the upper part of the human body

especially : the breasts of a woman

bust

2 of 3 verb

busted also bust; busting

1

a

: to break or smash with force

busted my watch

b

: to bring an end to : break up sense 2

c

: to ruin or become ruined financially

d

: exhaust entry 1 sense 1b, wear sense 3c

—used in phrases like bust one's butt to describe the act of trying very hard

2

: to tame an animal

bust a bronco

3

: demote

4

slang

a

: arrest entry 1 sense 2

b

: raid entry 2

5

: hit entry 1 sense 1a, punch

buster noun

bust

3 of 3 noun

1

: punch entry 2 sense 1

2

: a complete failure : flop

3

slang : a police raid or arrest

Etymology

Noun

from French buste "head and shoulders sculpture," from Italian busto (same meaning), from Latin bustum "tomb"

Verb

an altered form of burst