the chest of a human being, esp a woman's bosom a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
bust1 /bʌst/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
bust2 /bʌst/USA pronunciation v. [Informal.]
n. [countable]
adj. [go + ~]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Fine Arta statue or painting of the upper part of the human body:a bronze bust in the hallway.
-
- the breasts of a woman;
bosom.
- the breasts of a woman;
bust2 /bʌst/USA pronunciation v. [Informal.]
- Informal Termsto burst: [~ + object]Why did you bust those balloons?[no object]Did they all bust open?
- Informal Terms[~ + object] Informal.
- to hit:She busted him in the face.
- to break:I fell and busted my arm.
- to damage or destroy: [~ + up + object]He busted up the place.[~ + object + up]Get Bugsy to bust the place up.
- to break up;
separate;
split up:[~ + up]He and his wife busted up a month ago. - to escape or flee from jail:[~ + out of + object]They busted out of prison.
- Slang Terms[~ + object] Slang.
- to place under arrest:"Freeze! You're busted!'' shouted the cop.
- to enter (a house) in a police raid:The police busted her house.
n. [countable]
- [Informal.]something unsuccessful;
a failure:The play turned out to be a real bust. - a sudden economic decline;
depression:a bust in the economy. - Slang TermsSlang.
- an arrest:The rookie got credit for the bust of the Mafia boss.
- a police raid.
adj. [go + ~]
- Informal TermsInformal. bankrupt;
broke:Our business went bust after the war.
bust1
(bust),USA pronunciation n.
bust2 (bust),USA pronunciation v.i.
v.t.
n.
adj.
- Fine Arta sculptured, painted, drawn, or engraved representation of the upper part of the human figure, esp. a portrait sculpture showing only the head and shoulders of the subject.
- the chest or breast, esp. a woman's bosom.
- Latin būstum grave mound, tomb, literally, funeral pyre, ashes; presumably by association with the busts erected over graves
- Italian busto, probably
- French buste
- 1685–95
bust2 (bust),USA pronunciation v.i.
- Informal Terms
- to burst.
- to go bankrupt.
- to collapse from the strain of making a supreme effort:She was determined to make straight A's or bust.
- Games[Cards.]
- [Draw Poker.]to fail to make a flush or straight by one card.
- Blackjack. to draw cards exceeding the count of 21.
v.t.
- Informal Terms
- to burst.
- to bankrupt;
ruin financially.
- to demote, esp. in military rank or grade:He was busted from sergeant to private three times.
- to tame;
break:to bust a bronco. - Slang Terms
- to place under arrest:The gang was busted and put away on narcotics charges.
- to subject to a police raid:The bar has been busted three times for selling drinks to minors.
- Informal Terms
- to hit.
- to break;
fracture:She fell and busted her arm.
- Slang Terms, Idioms bust ass, Slang (vulgar). to fight with the fists;
strike or thrash another. - Slang Terms bust on:
- to attack physically;
beat up. - to criticize or reprimand harshly.
- to make fun of or laugh at;
mock. - to inform on.
- to attack physically;
- Slang Terms bust one's ass, Slang (vulgar). to make an extreme effort;
exert oneself. - Informal Terms bust up:
- to break up;
separate:Sam and his wife busted up a year ago. - to damage or destroy:Soldiers got in a fight and busted up the bar.
- to break up;
n.
- a failure.
- Informal Termsa hit;
sock;
punch:He got a bust in the nose before he could put up his hands. - a sudden decline in the economic conditions of a country, marked by an extreme drop in stock-market prices, business activity, and employment;
depression. - Slang Terms
- an arrest.
- a police raid.
- Informal Termsa drinking spree;
binge. - Games[Cards.]
- a very weak hand.
- [Bridge.]a hand lacking the potential to take a single trick.
adj.
- Informal Termsbankrupt;
broke.
- variant of burst, by loss of r before s, as in ass2, bass2, passel, etc. 1755–65
- Historically bust is derived from a dialect pronunciation of burst and is related to it much as cuss is related to curse. Bust is both a noun and a verb and has a wide range of meanings for both uses. Many are slang or informal. A few, as "a decline in economic conditions, depression,'' are standard.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
to burst or break to make or become bankrupt - (transitive)
(of the police) to raid, search, or arrest - (transitive)
to demote, esp in military rank
a raid, search, or arrest by the police a punch; hit a failure, esp a financial one; bankruptcy a drunken party
broken bankrupt - go bust ⇒
to become bankrupt