bust

bust¹ [bʌst] v past tense and past participle bust BrE also busted especially AmE

[T]

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1¦(break)¦

2¦(police)¦

3¦(try hard)¦

4¦(money)¦

5 crime-busting/union-busting/budget-busting etc

6 ... or bust!

7¦(military)¦

Phrasal verbs

　bust out

　bust up

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[Date: 1700-1800; Origin: burst]

1.) ¦(BREAK)¦ informal

to break something

▪ I bust my watch this morning.

▪ Tony busted the door down.

2.) ¦(POLICE)¦

a) if the police bust someone, they charge them with a crime

▪ He was busted by U.S. inspectors at the border.

bust sb for sth

▪ Davis got busted for drugs .

b) informal if the police bust a place, they go into it to look for something illegal

▪ Federal agents busted several money-exchange businesses.

3.) ¦(TRY HARD)¦

bust a gut

informal also bust your butt/ass AmE spoken

to try extremely hard to do something

▪ I bust a gut trying to finish that work on time.

4.) ¦(MONEY)¦

AmE informal to use too much money, so that a business etc must stop operating

▪ The trip to Spain will probably bust our budget.

5.) crime-busting/union-busting/budget-busting etc informal

used with nouns to show that a situation is being ended or an activity is being stopped

▪ crime-busting laws

6.) ... or bust! informal

used to say that you will try very hard to go somewhere or do something

▪ Idaho or bust!

7.) ¦(MILITARY)¦

especially AmE to give someone a lower military rank as a punishment

= ↑demote

bust out phr v

to escape from a place, especially prison

bust up phr v

1.) BrE if people bust up, they end their relationship or friendship

= ↑break up

▪ They bust up after six years of marriage.

→↑bust-up

2.) bust sth<=>up

to prevent an illegal activity or bad situation from continuing

= ↑break up

▪ A couple of teachers stepped in to bust up the fight.

3.) bust sth<=>up

AmE to damage or break something

▪ A bunch of bikers busted up the bar.

4.) AmE to start laughing a lot

= ↑crack up

▪ Elaine busted up laughing at the sight of him.

bust ²

bust² n

[Sense: 1-3; Date: 1600-1700; : French; Origin: buste, from Italian busto, from Latin bustum 'place where a body is buried, statue put by such a place']

[Sense: 4; Date: 1900-2000; Origin: BUST¹]

1.) a model of someone's head, shoulders, and upper chest, usually made of stone or metal

bust of

▪ a bust of Beethoven

2.) a woman's breasts, or the part of her clothes that covers her breasts

3.) a measurement around a woman's breast and back

▪ a 36-inch bust

4.) informal a situation in which the police go into a place in order to catch people doing something illegal

▪ a drug bust

→boom to bust at ↑boom¹ (1)

bust ³

bust³ adj [not before noun]

[Date: 1900-2000; Origin: From a past participle of BUST¹]

1.) go bust informal

a business that goes bust cannot continue operating

2.) BrE informal broken

▪ The television's bust again.