burst
[verb]
Synonyms:
- explode, blow up, break, crack, puncture, rupture, shatter, split, tear apart
- rush, barge, break, break out, erupt, gush forth, run, spout
[noun]
Synonyms:
- explosion, bang, blast, blowout, break, crack, discharge, rupture, split
- rush, gush, gust, outbreak, outburst, outpouring, spate, spurt, surge, torrent
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- ruptured, flat, punctured, rent, split

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English Thesaurus: break, smash, shatter, crack, burst, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. burst¹ W3 /bɜːst $ bɜːrst/ verb (past tense and past participle burst)
[Language: Old English; Origin: berstan]

1. BREAK OPEN [intransitive and transitive] 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 something 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 [intransitive 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 something informal to want to do something very much:
Zach was bursting to tell them something.

6. be bursting
a) British English 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 make someone suddenly realize that something is not as good as they thought it was:
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 onto 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 somebody/something phrasal verb
to interrupt someone or 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 something phrasal verb

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 something phrasal verb
to suddenly appear and become very successful:
The band burst onto the music scene in 1997.
burst out phrasal verb

1. burst out laughing/crying/singing etc to suddenly start to laugh, cry etc:
Everyone burst out laughing.

2. to suddenly say something in a forceful way:
‘I don’t believe it!’ she burst out angrily.
⇒ outburst(1)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. burst² noun [countable]

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

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

burst
noun
ADJ. short a short burst of energy
sudden a sudden burst of enthusiasm
rapid a rapid burst of gunfire
intense an intense burst of anger
PREP. in ~s He works in short bursts.
~ of

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

burst
verb
ADV. suddenly | apart The ship was burst apart and its crew blasted to pieces.
VERB + BURST be about to, be going to, be ready to My whole head felt like a ripe tomato, ready to burst.
PREP. with (figurative) He felt he would burst with anger.
PHRASAL VERBS burst into sth
ADV. suddenly | immediately, instantly, promptly She took one look at the mess and promptly burst into tears.
VERB + BURST be about to, be going to, be ready to He was just about to burst into song.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

break verb [intransitive] to become damaged and separate into pieces:
Plastic breaks quite easily.
smash verb [intransitive] to break after being hit with a lot of force:
The bowl smashed as it hit the floor.
shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces:
The glass shattered all over the pavement.
crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces:
The ice was starting to crack.
burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it:
She blew up the balloon until it burst.
split verb [intransitive] to break in a straight line:
The damp had caused the wood to split.
crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces:
The cork just crumbled in my hand.
hole an empty space in the surface of something, which sometimes goes all the way through it:
A fox had dug a hole under our fence.
Rain was coming in through a hole in the roof.
space an empty area between two things, into which you can put something:
Are there any empty spaces on the bookshelf?
a parking space
gap an empty area between two things or two parts of something, especially one that should not be there:
He has a gap between his two front teeth.
I squeezed through a gap in the hedge.
opening a hole that something can pass through or that you can see through, especially at the entrance of something:
The train disappeared into the dark opening of the tunnel.
I looked through the narrow opening in the wall.
leak a small hole where something has been damaged or broken that lets liquid or gas flow in or out:
a leak in the pipe
The plumber's coming to repair the leak.
puncture especially British English a small hole in a tyre through which air escapes:
My bike's got a puncture.
slot a straight narrow hole that you put a particular type of object into:
You have to put a coin in the slot before you dial the number.
A small disk fits into a slot in the camera.
crater a round hole in the ground made by an explosion or by a large object hitting it hard:
a volcanic crater
The meteor left a crater over five miles wide.
the craters on the moon

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

break verb [transitive] to damage something and make it separate into pieces, for example by dropping it or hitting it:
Careful you don’t break the chair.
He broke his leg.
smash verb [transitive] to break something with a lot of force:
A policeman smashed his camera.
snap verb [transitive] to break something into two pieces, making a loud noise – used especially about long thin objects:
He snapped the sticks in two.
split verb [transitive] to separate something into two pieces along a straight line:
Using a sharp knife, split the melon in half.
fracture verb [transitive] to damage a bone, especially so that a line appears on the surface:
I fell over and fractured my wrist.
tear /teə $ ter/ verb [transitive] to damage paper or cloth by pulling it so that it separates into pieces:
She tore up the letter and put it in the bin.
I tore my jacket.
shatter verb [intransitive] to break into a lot of small pieces:
The glass shattered all over the pavement.
crack verb [intransitive] if something cracks, a line appears on the surface, which means that it could later break into separate pieces:
The ice was starting to crack.
burst verb [intransitive] if a tyre, balloon, pipe etc bursts, it gets a hole and air or liquid suddenly comes out of it:
She blew up the balloon until it burst.
crumble verb [intransitive] to break into a powder or a lot of small pieces:
The cork just crumbled in my hand.
have/take a break
After two hours, she took a break and switched on the radio.
need a break
I’m sorry, I can’t do any more - I need a break.
a short/quick break
Shall we have a quick five-minute break?
a lunch break
What time’s your lunch break?
a coffee/tea break
How about a coffee break?
a morning/afternoon break
I don’t usually have time for a morning break.
a well-earned break (=one that you deserve)
Everyone’s looking forward to a well-earned break when the exams are over.
vacation especially American English, holiday especially British English time you spend away from school or work:
Are you taking a vacation this summer?
We met on holiday in Cyprus.
What are you doing in the school holidays?
holiday a day that is set by law, when no one has to go to work or school:
the Thanksgiving holiday
New Year's Day is a national holiday.
In 2002, there was an extra public holiday to mark the Queen's golden jubilee.
the August bank holiday (=day when all the banks and shops are closed – used in British English)
leave a time when you are allowed not to work:
We get four weeks' annual leave (=paid time off work each year).
He has been taking a lot of sick leave (=time off work because you are ill) recently.
Angela is on maternity leave (= time off work when having a baby).
He was given compassionate leave (=time off work because someone close to you has died, is very ill etc) to go to his father's funeral.
sabbatical [usually singular] a period when someone, especially a teacher, stops doing their usual work in order to study or travel:
She was on sabbatical for six months.
I'm thinking of taking a sabbatical.
furlough a period of time when a soldier or someone working in another country can return to their own country as a holiday:
While on furlough, he and his girlfriend got married.
R & R (rest and relaxation) a holiday, especially one given to people in the army, navy etc after a long period of hard work or during a war:
Soldiers in Vietnam were taken to Hawaii for R & R.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

explode verb [intransitive] if a bomb explodes, it bursts suddenly and violently with a loud noise:
A bomb exploded in a crowded metro station this morning, killing five people.
go off phrasal verb if a bomb goes off, it explodes. Go off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
Luckily the station was empty when the bomb went off.
As many as ten bombs went off across the city, most of them car bombs.
blow up phrasal verb if a building, car, plane etc blows up, it bursts suddenly and violently into pieces, causing a lot of damage:
The plane blew up in mid-air, killing all the passengers and crew.
In early 1986, a US space shuttle blew up shortly after launch.
erupt /ɪˈrʌpt/ verb [intransitive] if a volcano erupts, it explodes and sends smoke and rock into the sky:
The volcano has erupted at least fifteen times since 1883.
burst verb [intransitive] if something that has air or liquid inside it bursts, it explodes and the air or liquid comes out:
One of the water pipes had burst.
The plane caught fire after its tyre burst on landing.
set off phrasal verb to make a bomb explode, either deliberately or accidentally. Set off is less formal than explode and is the usual phrase to use in everyday English:
The group set off a bomb outside a crowded cafe in Izmir last September.
Police say radio signals were probably used to set the bomb off.
detonate /ˈdetəneɪt/ verb [transitive] to make a bomb explode, especially by using special equipment. Detonate is a more technical word than set off:
Army experts detonated the bomb safely in a nearby field.
The 200 kg bomb was detonated by terrorists using a remote-control device.
let off phrasal verb British English to deliberately make a bomb explode:
Terrorists let off a bomb in the city centre.
The bomb was let off shortly before 3 pm.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲