Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

bust

/bʌst/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.04 in modern English

Syllables
bust
IPA
/bʌst/
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To break.

American usage; Colloquial; Transitive verb

verb

To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime.

Slang; Transitive verb

verb

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.

Slang; Transitive verb

verb

To debunk, dispel (a belief).

Slang; Transitive verb

verb

An emphatic synonym of do or get.

verb

To reduce in rank.

American usage; Informal

verb

To undo a trade, generally an error trade, that has already been executed.

Transitive verb

verb

To lose all of one's chips.

Example Sentences

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /bʌst/
  • British English: /bʌst/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

busts (present, singular) busting (participle, present) busted (participle, past) busted (past) busts (plural)

Derived Forms

bustable buster mythbust busthead cloudbust busted bustlike bustline busty overbust underbust

Phrases

ball-bust belly-busting bunker-busting bust a cap bust a cap in someone's ass bust a gasket bust a gut bust a move

Frequently Paired Words

buss bustier

Synonyms

nick broke skint stone-broke stony-broke tear binge bout

Homonyms

bussed bused

Rhymes With

just must trust discussed dust adjust robust thrust rust lust crust disgust

Questions

How do you pronounce bust?
The recorded pronunciation is /bʌst/.
What does bust mean?
To break.
Where does bust come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce bust

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “bust”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bʌst/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “bust”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “bust” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.