bust

¹

[ buhst ]

noun

1. a sculptured, painted, drawn, or engraved representation of the upper part of the human figure, especially a portrait sculpture showing only the head and shoulders of the subject.
2. the chest or breast, especially a woman's bosom.

bust

²

[ buhst ]

verb (used without object)

1. Informal.
   1. to burst.
   2. to go bankrupt.
   3. to collapse from the strain of making a supreme effort:

      She was determined to make straight A's or bust.

2. Cards.
   1. Draw Poker. to fail to make a flush or straight by one card.
   2. Blackjack. to draw cards exceeding the count of 21.

verb (used with object)

1. Informal.
   1. to burst.
   2. to bankrupt; ruin financially.
2. to demote, especially in military rank or grade:

   He was busted from sergeant to private three times.

3. to tame; break:

   to bust a bronco.

4. Slang.
   1. to place under arrest:

      The gang was busted and put away on narcotics charges.

   2. to subject to a police raid:

      The bar has been busted three times for selling drinks to minors.

5. Informal.
   1. to hit.
   2. to break; fracture:

      She fell and busted her arm.

noun

1. a failure.
2. Informal. a hit; sock; punch:

   He got a bust in the nose before he could put up his hands.

3. a sudden decline in the economic conditions of a country, marked by an extreme drop in stock-market prices, business activity, and employment; depression.
4. Slang.
   1. an arrest.
   2. a police raid.
5. Informal. a drinking spree; binge.
6. Cards.
   1. a very weak hand.
   2. Bridge. a hand lacking the potential to take a single trick.

adjective

1. Informal. bankrupt; broke.

verb phrase

1. Informal.
   1. to break up; separate:

      Sam and his wife busted up a year ago.

   2. to damage or destroy:

      Soldiers got in a fight and busted up the bar.

bust

¹

/ bʌst /

noun

1. the chest of a human being, esp a woman's bosom
2. a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person

bust

²

/ bʌst /

verb

1. to burst or break
2. to make or become bankrupt
3. tr (of the police) to raid, search, or arrest

   the girl was busted for drugs

4. tr to demote, esp in military rank
5. tr to break or tame (a horse, etc)
6. tr to punch; hit
7. bust a gut
   See gut

noun

1. a raid, search, or arrest by the police
2. a punch; hit
3. a failure, esp a financial one; bankruptcy
4. a drunken party

adjective

1. broken
2. bankrupt
3. go bust
   to become bankrupt

Word History and Origins

Origin of bust¹

First recorded in 1640–50; from French buste, from Italian busto, probably from Latin bustum “funeral pyre, ashes, grave mound, tomb,” presumably by association with the busts erected over graves

Origin of bust²

First recorded in 1755–65; variant of burst, by loss of r before s, as in ass ², bass ², passel, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bust¹

C17: from French buste , from Italian busto a sculpture, of unknown origin

Origin of bust²

C19: from a dialect pronunciation of burst

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. bust ass, Slang: Vulgar. to fight with the fists; strike or thrash another.
2. bust on, Slang.
   1. to attack physically; beat up.
   2. to criticize or reprimand harshly.
   3. to make fun of or laugh at; mock.
   4. to inform on.
3. bust one's ass, Slang: Vulgar. to make an extreme effort; exert oneself.

More idioms and phrases containing bust

• break (bust) one's ass
• go broke (bust)

Example Sentences

“Coming to practice the next day, my muscles felt they were going to bust,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Video of the crash site shows a red SUV busted through a guardrail on Sawtelle Boulevard and into the side of the house.

From Los Angeles Times

The very catchy song features Andy Samberg busting people who put trash in his recycle bin or trespass into his yard.

From Los Angeles Times

According to the Colour Literacy Project, from which Salon learned to bust all of the above color myths, what we learn about color is mostly wrong.

From Salon

Sir David Behan, the OfS chairman, says a university going bust “isn’t imminent now”, but to reduce the risk higher education needs to be “radically reimagined”.

From BBC

Related Words

• apprehend
• detain
• pinch

More About Bust

What does or bust mean?

The phrase or bust is used when someone is pursuing an end no matter what, even if they fail trying. Saying New York City or bust, for example, means someone is doing absolutely everything to go there.

How is or bust pronounced?

[ awr buhst ]

Where does or bust come from?

The phrase or bust may be associated with hitchhikers who’d write it on the signs they’d hold on the side of the highway while waiting for someone to offer them a ride (e.g., Vegas or bust), but the expression was apparently first popularized in the Colorado gold rush of the mid-1800s.

Following the discovery of gold in what is now Englewood, Colorado, people with little or nothing to lose began heading to an area of the state known as Pike’s Peak Country hoping to strike it rich. Around the 1850–60s, some of these dreamers began using the phrase Pike’s Peak or bust as they boarded up their homes and headed west through unforgiving weather and terrain—all for that sweet, sweet gold.

These gold-seekers didn’t invent the phrase, though. It’s recorded as early as the 1830s. Bust itself is a variant of burst, and or bust implies that one will violently break down or fall to pieces before giving up on their goal.

During the 2016 Democratic primaries, some die-hard supporters of the progressive Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders started an effort called Bernie or Bust. Some of these people pledged that they would not vote for Hillary Clinton if she won the Democratic nomination. Instead, they would write in Sanders, vote for a third-party candidate, or not vote.

How is or bust used in real life?

The phrase or bust follows the object of one’s ambition, such as a location or accomplishment (e.g., Austin or bust or 4.0 GPA or bust).

Or bust is often still used in the context of a trip, especially road trips. Nowadays it’s mostly used for enthusiasm and not meant to suggest that not arriving at the intended location is an actual possibility.

Fort Bend or Bust! Go Dogs! #ALLIN #defendandprotect #thisisus pic.twitter.com/e5n6gSOFJR

— Magnolia Girls Hoops (@MagnoliaGBB) November 15, 2018

The phrase is also often used outside the realm of travel, and is meant to suggest that there is only one option and way forward, that anything else is defeat or failure (e.g., Our team is going to the Super Bowl or bust).

More examples of or bust:

“It’s win or bust for both Donegal and Roscommon at The Hyde after their opening Super Eights defeats and Bonner was making sure he had his troops rallied ahead of the long trip home to the north-west.”

—Michael Scully, Irish Mirror, July 2018