buster

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noun bust·er \ ˈbəs-tər \

Definition of buster

1 a chiefly Midland :someone or something extraordinary

a buster of a breakfast
—Harriet B. Stowe

b :an unusually sturdy child

c 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 as

a :plow

[short for broncobuster]

:a person who breaks horses

4 :a bad fall

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Recent Examples of buster from the Web

Depending on the size of the munitions, a B-2 could drop a pair of bunker busters during a sortie or let loose more than 150 smaller bombs all able to hit separate bull’s-eyes.

— scott canon, kansascity, "North Korea, ‘fire and fury’ and Guam: Missouri-based B-2 bombers play a key role," 10 Aug. 2017
According to the unshakable tabloid-buster Gossip Cop, no.

— allie jones, The Cut, "Katy Perry and Robert Pattinson Are Kind of, Maybe, Possibly a Thing," 7 Aug. 2017
Be kind and insert the obvious joke about no fighting in the war room (Top Gun quotes are also a great tension-buster).

— loren dejonge schulman, The Atlantic, "Can This National Security Council Handle a Real Crisis?," 4 Aug. 2017
But in the immediate future the GOP measure is a budget buster.

— Fox News, "GOP House budget plan boosts military spending, cuts domestic programs," 18 July 2017
Progressive Party candidate Henry Wallace, who inspired a passionate mass movement on the left quite similar to today’s Bernie-or-busters, lambasted Truman as a tool of Wall Street.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "How ‘Neoliberalism’ Became The Left’s Favorite Insult Of Liberals," 16 July 2017
The biggest wedding wallet busters are venue, catering and rental expenses, which account for 45 percent of all wedding budgets nationwide.

— AL.com, "How much the average wedding - and engagement ring - costs in Alabama," 12 July 2017
The gut buster is one of the featured items at Billy Sims BBQ.

— blair kerkhoff, kansascity.com, "No Heisman Trophy but a Heisman sandwich for Billy Sims at his BBQ joint," 30 June 2017
The competition, which started in 1916 and will be held again Tuesday, is a true gut-buster.

— sean rossman, USA TODAY, "The science of competitive eating: How do they do it?," 30 June 2017

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.

First Known Use of buster

1614

BUSTER Defined for English Language Learners

buster

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noun

Definition of buster for English Language Learners

: a person or thing that stops or prevents something
: a person or thing that breaks something apart
—used to address a man who is behaving in a way you do not like

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