buster

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noun bust·er \ˈbəs-tər\

Definition of buster

1a chiefly Midland : someone or something extraordinary a buster of a breakfast — Harriet B. Stoweb : an unusually sturdy childc often capitalized : fellow —usually used as a form of address hey buster, come here
2 chiefly Australia : a sudden violent wind often coming from the south
3 : one that breaks, breaks up, or eliminates something crime busters: such asa : plowb [short for broncobuster] : a person who breaks horses
4 : a bad fall

See buster defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of buster from the Web

These forces systematically destroyed hospitals, including pediatric facilities; decimated civilian housing with bunker-buster bombs and chlorine gas; and refused to allow food or humanitarian aid of any kind into the besieged districts of the city.

— editorial board, Washington Post, "The bloodbath in Aleppo will haunt humanity", 14 Dec. 2016
Retailers are also increasingly making available online the type of door-buster deals typically reserved for store locations on Black Friday.

— Honolulu Star-Advertiser, "Dialing up deals: Black Friday online sales hit new high", 26 Nov. 2016
Chynna Bleyl and McKayla Fancher were the first two people in line for a door-buster sale at Victoria’s Secret Pink on Friday.

— sara germano, WSJ, "On Black Friday, Teens Prioritize Bargains Over Brands", 25 Nov. 2016
Some of the airstrikes, Mr. Kerry said, included use of incendiary weapons and bunker-buster bombs, heavy-duty explosives that kill indiscriminately.

— michael r. gordon, New York Times, "Syria Talks Will End if Aleppo Bombing Continues, U.S. Tells Russia", 28 Sep. 2016
As a graduate student, everyone wants to be a dogma-buster.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "This Fly's Sperm Is One Thousand Times Longer Than Human Sperm", 25 May 2016
John Oliver made a joke about a new line of shoes, the Fila-busters, the next night on The Daily Show.

— heidi mitchell, Vogue, "Stand and Deliver: After Her 12-Hour Filibuster, How Far Will Texas Senator Wendy Davis Run?", 15 Aug. 2013
The last two — Ghost World and Art School Confidential — were both moving gut-busters.

— scott thill, WIRED, "Daniel Clowes’ Comic Wilson Worms Toward Hollywood", 20 Nov. 2010
The New York Times drops a bunker buster this morning: General Petraeus signed a secret order last year authorizing covert military actions across the Middle East, including in allied nations.

— tim heffernan, Esquire, "Obama: Ending the War by Escalating It", 25 May 2010

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'buster'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.