bust

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
6
Words With Friends
8
Letters
4
Pronunciation
/bʌst/
See all 2 pronunciations
/bʌst/ · /bʊst/

Definition of bust

28 senses · 3 parts of speech · etymology included

verb

  1. (US, colloquial, transitive)To break.
    “I busted my cooker while trying to fix it.”
See all 28 definitions

verb

  1. (US, colloquial, transitive)To break.
    “I busted my cooker while trying to fix it.”
  2. (slang, transitive)To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime.
    “Aaron got busted by the feds for leaking confidential government documents on Reddit.”
  3. (slang, transitive)To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state.
  4. (transitive)To debunk, dispel (a belief).
    “MythBusters”
  5. An emphatic synonym of do or get.
    “He busted huge air off that jump!”
  6. (US, informal)To reduce in rank.
    “He busted him down to patrolman for insubordination.”
    “If Steinkamp doesn't take off that hat and stop messing around, I'm gonna bust him into a PFC.”
  7. (transitive)To undo a trade, generally an error trade, that has already been executed.
  8. To lose all of one's chips.
  9. To exceed a score of 21.
  10. (slang, transitive)To break in (an animal).
    “A few weeks later, Richard was killed accidentally while busting a wild mustang […]”
  11. (slang, transitive)To have sex with (a woman or girl) for the first time, to take another's virginity.
    “Smith hears Nancy's protests - "Don't ... no, please don't." - when Hicock menaces her with "You ever had a man?" Finding Hicock rubbing her thigh as she whimpers in fear, Smith confronts him about his intentions, and Hicock says, "First, I'm going to bust that little girl." Smith tells him no, but Hicock replies, "What do you care? You can bust her too."”
  12. (intransitive, slang, vulgar)To ejaculate; to eject semen or to squirt.
    “I busted a fat one just wackin' it to the selfie she sent me.”
    “After ten times we fucked, I think I bust twice He was nice, kept my neck filled with ice”
  13. (intransitive)For a headline to exceed the amount of space reserved for it.
    “The temptation to squeeze in a favourite headline that busts by using the flexibility of new technology is often very strong.”
    “If your headline busts (breaks the confines of the layout) you will know straightaway. Similarly, the computer will inform you, in terms of the number of lines, how much longer or shorter the copy is in relation to the space allotted.”
  14. (slang)To refute an established opening.
    “So is the King's Gambit really busted?”
  15. (slang, transitive)To shoot (a gun).
    “He busted his glock.”
  16. (intransitive, slang)To attack, hit or insult (someone).
    “He's always busting on you.”
  17. (slang)To do or perform; to move quickly.
    “Bust a left turn.”

noun

  1. (slang)The act of arresting someone for a crime, or raiding a suspected criminal operation.
    “a narcotics bust”
  2. (slang)A police raid or takedown of a criminal enterprise.
  3. (slang)A failed enterprise; a bomb.
  4. (slang)A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis.
  5. (slang)A disappointment.
    “Paris was a bust. They wouldn't even let us see the Mona Lisa.”
  6. (derogatory)A player who fails to meet expectations.
  7. The downward portion of a boom and bust cycle; a recession.
  8. (dated, slang)A spree, unrestrained revel, or wild party.
  9. A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders.
  10. A woman's breasts; the circumference of her chest measured around the breasts.

adj

  1. (not-comparable, slang)Without any money, broke, bankrupt.
    “After months of financial problems, the company finally went bust.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

Words you can make from bust

10 playable · top: BUTS (6 pts)

Best play buts 6 points

4-letter words

2 words

3-letter words

5 words

2-letter words

2 words

Hooks

2 extensions · 2 back

A single letter you can add to bust to make another valid word.

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