bust

Everyday

1. (informal) To bust something is to break it: «I bust my bike». tree →
2. A bust is a statue of a person's head, shoulders and chest. tree →
3. A bust is a woman's chest, or its measurement for clothes. tree →
4. (informal) Go bust means a business runs out of money and closes. tree →
5. (slang) To bust someone is to catch them doing wrong or arrest them; a bust is a police raid. tree →
6. (slang) «Busted!» means «you've been caught!». tree →

In the lessons

In everyday talk it is a casual, strong word for «broken» or «caught». In history lessons and museums, busts are statues of famous people. In business news, «the company went bust». Phrases: «go bust», «busted!», «bust a gut» (try very hard), «a drugs bust», «-buster» (ghostbuster, myth-buster).

Examples

• I bust my headphones when I sat on them. tree →
• There is a marble bust of the old queen in the museum. tree →
• The toy shop went bust and closed. tree →
• Busted! I saw you take the last biscuit! tree →
• The police made a big drugs bust. tree →
• We bust a gut to finish the model on time. tree →
• The dressmaker measured her bust, waist and hips. tree →
• Alfred decided to take a bust of Kaela as well as of her mother. tree →

Note

Past form: «bust» (UK) or «busted» (US and informal everywhere). «Bust» for break is informal; in writing use «broke». The chest meaning is polite, not rude. «Busted» can also mean «broken» in US slang: a busted phone.