bust
[noun]
bosom, breast, chest, front, torso
————————
(Informal)
[verb]
Synonyms:
- break, burst, fracture, rupture
- arrest, catch, raid, search
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- go bust: go bankrupt, become insolvent, be ruined, fail

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Antonyms: promote

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. bust¹ /bʌst/ verb (past tense and past participle bust British English, busted especially American English) [transitive]
[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 US inspectors at the border.
bust somebody for something
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 (also bust your butt/ass American English spoken) informal to try extremely hard to do something:
I bust a gut trying to finish that work on time.

4. MONEY American English 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 American English to give someone a lower military rank as a punishment Synonym : demote
bust out phrasal verb informal
to escape from a place, especially prison
bust up phrasal verb informal

1. British English if people bust up, they end their relationship or friendship Synonym : break up:
They bust up after six years of marriage. ⇒ bust-up(1)

2. bust something ↔ up to prevent an illegal activity or bad situation from continuing Synonym : break up:
A couple of teachers stepped in to bust up the fight.

3. bust something ↔ up American English to damage or break something:
A bunch of bikers busted up the bar.

4. American English to start laughing a lot Synonym : crack up:
Elaine busted up laughing at the sight of him.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. bust² noun [countable]
[Sense 1-3: Date: 1600-1700; Language: 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)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. bust³ adjective [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. British English informal broken:
The television’s bust again.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲