burst

burst¹ [bə:st US bə:rst] v past tense and past participle burst

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1¦(break open)¦

2 be bursting with something

3¦(move suddenly)¦

4 burst open

5 be bursting to do something

6 be bursting

7 burst somebody's bubble

8 burst its banks

Phrasal verbs

　burst in on/upon somebody/something

　burst into something

　burst onto/upon/on something

　burst out

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[: Old English; Origin: berstan]

1.) ¦(BREAK OPEN)¦ [I and T]

if something bursts or if you burst it, it breaks open or apart suddenly and violently so that its contents come out

▪ The pipes had burst and the house was under two feet of water.

2.) be bursting with sth

to have a lot of something or be filled with something

▪ John was bursting with ideas and good humour.

▪ The shops are bursting with food.

be bursting with pride/energy/excitement etc

▪ Your mum's bursting with pride for you.

3.) ¦(MOVE SUDDENLY)¦ [I always + adverb/preposition]

to move somewhere suddenly or quickly, especially into or out of a place

burst into/through/in etc

▪ Jo burst into the room.

4.) burst open

to open suddenly

▪ The door burst open and Tom ran into the room.

5.) be bursting to do sth informal

to want to do something very much

▪ Zach was bursting to tell them something.

6.) be bursting

a) BrE informal to need to go to the toilet very soon

b) also be bursting at the seams

to be so full that nothing else can fit inside

7.) burst sb's bubble informal

to destroy someone's beliefs or hopes about something

▪ Steve was so happy I couldn't bear to burst his bubble.

8.) burst its banks

if a river bursts its banks, water from it goes on to the land

→full (up) to bursting at ↑full¹ (1), burst the bubble at ↑bubble¹ (6), the bubble bursts at ↑bubble¹ (5)

burst in on/upon / [burst in on/upon sb/sth] phr v

to interrupt something by entering a room, in a way that embarrasses you or other people

▪ I'm sorry to burst in on you like this.

burst into [burst into sth] phr v

1.) to suddenly begin to make a sound, especially to start singing, crying, or laughing

▪ Claire looked as if she were about to burst into tears .

▪ Suddenly, the group burst into laughter .

▪ Lydia burst into song .

2.) burst into flames/flame

to suddenly start to burn very strongly

▪ Their car crashed and burst into flames.

burst onto/upon/on [burst onto/upon/on sth] phr v

to suddenly appear and become very successful

▪ The band burst onto the music scene in 1997.

burst out phr v

1.) burst out laughing/crying/singing etc

to suddenly start to laugh, cry etc

▪ Everyone in the room burst out laughing.

2.) to suddenly say something in a forceful way

▪ 'I don't believe it!' she burst out angrily.

→↑outburst

burst ²

burst² n

1.) the act of something bursting or the place where it has burst

▪ a burst in the water pipe

2.)

a) a short sudden effort or increase in activity

burst of

▪ The van gave a sudden burst of speed.

b) a short sudden and usually loud sound

burst of

▪ sharp bursts of machine gun fire

c) a sudden strong feeling or emotion

burst of anger/enthusiasm/temper etc