bust

bust1 [ bʌst ] noun *

1. ) count a model of the head and shoulders of a person made out of stone, wood, metal, etc.:

a bust of Shakespeare

2. ) count a woman's breasts, used especially when taking their measurements:

Measure the hips, waist, and bust.

3. ) count INFORMAL an occasion when the police go into a place to search it for illegal goods or activities, especially those relating to drugs

4. ) singular INFORMAL a complete failure: FLOP:

The movie was a total bust.

bust

bust 2 [ bʌst ] verb transitive INFORMAL

1. ) to break or damage something very badly:

I busted my knee playing basketball.

Thieves busted the lock and damaged the sliding door.

2. ) usually passive if someone is busted, they are arrested, especially for offenses relating to drugs:

bust someone for something: He's been busted for drug trafficking.

a ) if the police bust a place, they search it for illegal goods or activities, especially those relating to drugs

3. ) AMERICAN to give someone in the military a lower rank as a punishment:

He was busted to buck private.

4. ) bust or bust up to stop an activity or organization from continuing to happen or exist:

Businessmen hired mobsters to bust the unions.

bust your ass/butt AMERICAN SPOKEN

to put a lot of effort into doing something

...or bust SPOKEN

used for saying that you will try extremely hard to succeed in something:

It's Hollywood or bust.

,bust `out phrasal verb intransitive INFORMAL

to escape from prison

,bust `up phrasal verb INFORMAL

1. ) transitive same as BUST 2 4:

Customs officers have bust up a major gun smuggling operation.

2. ) intransitive BRITISH to have an argument and end a relationship

=> BUST-UP

bust

bust 3 [ bʌst ] adjective INFORMAL

1. ) a company or organization that is bust has lost all its money and can no longer continue to operate: BANKRUPT:

go bust: The company went bust after only a year in business.

2. ) BRITISH broken:

My watch is bust.