bust

¹ American  

[buhst] / bʌst /

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 American  

[buhst] / bʌst /

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. bust up

   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.

idioms

1. bust ass, to fight with the fists; strike or thrash another.

2. bust on,

   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, to make an extreme effort; exert oneself.

bust ¹ British  

/ 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. 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. to become bankrupt

bust ² British  

/ 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 More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bust

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

---

Usage

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 ]

Etymology

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.

Explanation

If you bust something, you have broken it. A bust can also be a statue of someone from the shoulders up. Be careful to not bust a bust on your next field trip! Several meanings of bust are pretty discouraging. You might describe your business as bust if it's totally out of money, for example. Or you might threaten your younger sister, "If you bust my ceramic unicorn, you're in big trouble!" There's also the kind of bust that might sit on your piano, like a bust of Mozart or Bach — a statue of a person's head and upper shoulders. This is the oldest meaning of the word, from the Italian busto, "upper body."

Example Sentences

Appeared in the December 19, 2025, print edition as 'How L.A.’s Richest Man Went From Billions to Bust'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

His 80,000-word account of the experience was found in an online auction won by amateur social-historian David Wilkins, who has now published it under the title Blighty or Bust.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2024

But Jet City was only emerging from the Boeing Bust of 1969-71.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2023

You’ll see new acquisitions, not least by women of the 17th and 18th centuries, and freshly cleaned favorites, above all Rembrandt’s “Aristotle With a Bust of Homer,” gleaming through melancholy.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2023

In the last inning of the fifth game, Mabel shook Shirley like a bottle of catsup, shouting, “Do it again. Bust this one outta the park, Cookie!”

From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord

Related Words

• apprehend
• detain
• pinch