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definitions

burst

[burst]
See more synonyms for burst on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), burst or, often, burst·ed, burst·ing.
  1. to break, break open, or fly apart with sudden violence: The bitter cold caused the pipes to burst.
  2. to issue forth suddenly and forcibly, as from confinement or through an obstacle: Oil burst to the surface. He burst through the doorway.
  3. to give sudden expression to or as if to emotion: to burst into applause; to burst into tears.
  4. to be extremely full, as if ready to break open: The house was bursting with people.
  5. to appear suddenly; become visible, audible, evident, etc., all at once: The sun burst through the clouds.
verb (used with object), burst or, often, burst·ed, burst·ing.
  1. to cause to break or break open suddenly and violently: He burst the balloon.
  2. to cause or suffer the rupture of: to burst a blood vessel.
  3. to separate (the parts of a multipart stationery form consisting of interleaved paper and carbon paper).
noun
  1. an act or instance of bursting.
  2. a sudden, intense display, as of activity, energy, or effort: The car passed us with a burst of speed.
  3. a sudden expression or manifestation, as of emotion: a burst of affection.
  4. a sudden and violent issuing forth: a burst of steam from the pipe.
  5. Military.
    1. the explosion of a projectile, especially in a specified place: an air burst.
    2. 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.
  6. the result of bursting; breach; gap: a burst in the dike.
  7. a sudden appearance or opening to view.
Idioms
  1. burst at the seams, to be filled to or beyond normal capacity: This room will be bursting at the seams when all the guests arrive.

Origin of burst

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
Related formsnon·burst·ing, adjective, nounun·burst, adjective
Can be confusedbust burst (see usage note at bust2)

Synonyms for burst

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com
1. crack, explode. 6. rend, tear. 10. spurt. 11, 12. outbreak.

Usage note

See bust2.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for burst

fusillade, rush, explosion, salvo, shower, blowout, gust, flare, eruption, outbreak, spate, surge, outpouring, barrage, crack, storm, volley, spurt, torrent, blow

Examples from the Web for burst

Contemporary Examples of burst

Historical Examples of burst

  • "Now you are angry with me," exclaimed the sensitive maiden; and she burst into tears.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • Then, indeed, she had burst upon him with an impetuous despair that had alarmed him.

    Malbone

    Thomas Wentworth Higginson

  • Although my heart was ready to burst, yet could I neither weep nor speak.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

  • Just think a moment: this my first burst from the dungeon-land of London for a whole year!

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • He dashed the glass from him, and burst into tears which he did not even try to conceal.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for burst

burst

verb bursts, bursting or burst
  1. to break or cause to break open or apart suddenly and noisily, esp from internal pressure; explode
  2. (intr) to come, go, etc, suddenly and forciblyhe burst into the room
  3. (intr) to be full to the point of breaking open
  4. (intr) to give vent (to) suddenly or loudlyto burst into song
  5. to cause or suffer the rupture ofto burst a blood vessel
noun
  1. a sudden breaking open or apart; explosion
  2. a break; breach; rupture
  3. a sudden display or increase of effort or action; spurta burst of speed
  4. a sudden and violent emission, occurrence, or outbreaka burst of heavy rain; a burst of applause
  5. a volley of fire from a weapon or weapons
adjective
  1. broken apart; ruptureda burst pipe
Derived Formsburster, noun

Word Origin for burst

Old English berstan; related to Old Norse bresta, Old Frisian bersta, Old High German brestan; compare break
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for burst
v.

Old English berstan (intransitive) "break suddenly, shatter under pressure" (class III strong verb; past tense bærst, past participle borsten), from a West Germanic metathesis of Proto-Germanic *brestanan (cf. Old Saxon brestan, Old Frisian bersta, Middle Dutch berstan, Low German barsten, Dutch barsten, Old High German brestan, German bersten "to burst"), from PIE root *bhreus- "to burst, break, crack" (see bruise (v.)).

The forms reverted to brest- in Middle English from influence of Old Norse brestan/brast/brosten, from the same Germanic root, but it was re-metathesized late 16c. and emerged in the modern form, though brast was common as past tense through 17c. and survives in dialect.

Of extended or distended surfaces from 1530s. Figuratively, in reference to being over-full of excitement, anticipation, etc., from 1630s. Transitive sense ("to cause to break") is from late 13c. Meaning "to issue suddenly and abundantly" is from c.1300 (literal), mid-13c. (figurative). Meaning "break into sudden activity or expression" is from 1680s. Related: Bursting.

n.

1610s, "act of bursting," from burst (v.). Meaning "a spurt" (of activity, etc.) is from 1862. The earlier noun berst (early Middle English) meant "damage, injury, harm."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper