burst
Americanverb (used without object)
-
bursts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burst,
past participle, past
-
bursted,
past participle, past
-
bursting
present participle
-
to break, break open, or fly apart with sudden violence.
The bitter cold caused the pipes to burst.
-
to issue forth suddenly and forcibly, as from confinement or through an obstacle.
Oil burst to the surface. He burst through the doorway.
-
to give sudden expression to or as if to emotion.
to burst into applause; to burst into tears.
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to be extremely full, as if ready to break open.
The house was bursting with people.
-
to appear suddenly; become visible, audible, evident, etc., all at once.
The sun burst through the clouds.
verb (used with object)
-
bursts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burst,
past participle, past
-
bursted,
past participle, past
-
bursting
present participle
noun
-
bursts
plural
-
an act or instance of bursting.
-
a sudden, intense display, as of activity, energy, or effort.
The car passed us with a burst of speed.
- Synonyms:
- spurt
-
a sudden expression or manifestation, as of emotion.
a burst of affection.
- Synonyms:
- outbreak
-
a sudden and violent issuing forth.
a burst of steam from the pipe.
- Synonyms:
- outbreak
-
Military.
-
the explosion of a projectile, especially in a specified place.
an air burst.
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a rapid sequence of shots fired by one pull on the trigger of an automatic weapon.
A burst from the machine gun shattered all the windows.
-
-
the result of bursting; breach; gap.
a burst in the dike.
-
a sudden appearance or opening to view.
idioms
verb
-
to break or cause to break open or apart suddenly and noisily, esp from internal pressure; explode
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(intr) to come, go, etc, suddenly and forcibly
he burst into the room
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(intr) to be full to the point of breaking open
-
(intr) to give vent (to) suddenly or loudly
to burst into song
-
to cause or suffer the rupture of
to burst a blood vessel
noun
-
a sudden breaking open or apart; explosion
-
a break; breach; rupture
-
a sudden display or increase of effort or action; spurt
a burst of speed
-
a sudden and violent emission, occurrence, or outbreak
a burst of heavy rain
a burst of applause
-
a volley of fire from a weapon or weapons
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
burstsimple
-
burstssimple
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have burstperfect
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have burstedperfect
-
has burstperfect
-
has burstedperfect
-
am burstingprogressive
-
are burstingprogressive
-
is burstingprogressive
-
have been burstingperfect progressive
-
has been burstingperfect progressive
Past
-
burstsimple
-
burstedsimple
-
had burstperfect
-
had burstedperfect
-
was burstingprogressive
-
were burstingprogressive
-
had been burstingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of burst
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bersten, bursten, Old English berstan (past plural burston ), cognate with Old High German brestan ( German bersten ), Old Norse bresta; akin to break
Explanation
A burst is a sudden flurry of activity. Bursts of energy are helpful in shoveling heavy snow, but it's better if you work steadily instead of shoveling fast and stopping. As a verb, burst is your go-to action word to describe something sudden and energetic happening. It usually means, "to explode outward, with noise" like if you burst into song in the middle of study hall, startling everyone. It also means, “to split open in a violent way due to internal pressure” like an overfilled water balloon. It comes from the Old English word berstan, meaning "break suddenly."
Vocabulary lists containing burst
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 2
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
According to him, America would have burst into flames and melted into the bedrock mantle if he hadn’t come to town.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Every single financial bubble has burst when some people have started to ask whether they will really get all their money back.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was only after an injury to the starter that Chambliss burst on the scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
This short and rapid burst suggests that CRH has an important function during the earliest stages of the healing response.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Perhaps that soft crackle that he’d so often heard was actually a burst of applause, a triumphant greeting from others in that realm welcoming a new soul.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
But it ends with a blooper shot where Burnham fumbles to catch the helmet and bursts out laughing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Seehorn bursts out laughing, which she does often and with great gusto throughout our conversation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
That constant swirling is a driving force behind bursts of energy from the Sun, creating so-called space weather, that can disrupt Earth's power grids and satellites, and could even injure astronauts.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Of course, none of those businesses would fare well if the AI bubble bursts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
An explosion of icy wind and blue light bursts out.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Previously, I’d been seduced by demonstrative courtship, but Mark wasn’t effusive, and when someone bursted into laughter with “She’s hysterical!” at one of my jokes, Mark looked bewildered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2025
“Cordage has collapsed like a bursted meteor,” reported the Commercial and Financial Chronicle, “and the other industrials have all of them shared to a considerable extent in the decline.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2024
It bursted out of TikTok and into the mainstream last month, when Shakira performed the “Jiggle Jiggle” dance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2022
Minnesota bursted out to a 23-0 lead at halftime as Pittsburgh struggled on offense and with run defense.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2021
The skins of wine were bursted; but the contents had been apparently appreciated, for none remained in the hollows of the rocks.
From The Cat of Bubastes A Tale of Ancient Egypt by J. R. (John Reinhard) Weguelin
Wars, the bursting of the dot-com bubble and tax cuts sent budgets off course in the early 2000s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
More recently, the S&P 500 suffered through a lost decade during the 2000s, hurt by the one-two punch of the dot-com bubble bursting, and, later, the 2008 financial crisis.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Each half of the film reflects the character it follows, the first part frenetic, densely packed and bursting with music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Holland may be playing a child, but his performance is bursting with a newfound maturity. It is his strongest one to date."
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
As we reached the castle, the sun rose fully in the sky, its rays bursting all around the towers and turrets.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
