burst

[ burst ]

/ bɜrst /

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See synonyms for: burst / bursting / bursts on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), burst or, often, burst·ed, burst·ing.

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.

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), burst or, often, burst·ed, burst·ing.

to cause to break or break open suddenly and violently: He burst the balloon.

to cause or suffer the rupture of: to burst a blood vessel.

to separate (the parts of a multipart stationery form consisting of interleaved paper and carbon paper).

noun

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.

a sudden expression or manifestation, as of emotion: a burst of affection.

a sudden and violent issuing forth: a burst of steam from the pipe.

Military.

the explosion of a projectile, especially in a specified place: an air burst.
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.

OTHER WORDS FOR burst

1 crack, explode.

6 rend, tear.

10 spurt.

11, 12 outbreak.

See synonyms for burst on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about burst

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

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

OTHER WORDS FROM burst

non·burst·ing, adjective, nounun·burst, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH burst

burst , bust

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use burst in a sentence

Long-necked sauropods, the largest animals ever to walk on Earth, may have thundered into dominance during the Jurassic Period thanks to a large burst of volcanic activity that began around 184 million years ago, a new study suggests.
How massive long-necked dinosaurs rose to rule the Jurassic herbivores|Carolyn Gramling|November 18, 2020|Science News
Some researchers use intense bursts of electricity, called pulsed power.
Giant lasers help re-create supernovas’ explosive, mysterious physics|Emily Conover|November 12, 2020|Science News
Pfizer got a burst of results in recent weeks that pushed that trial over the line to take a first look.
Moderna shares soar as markets bet its COVID vaccine trial is on the same track as Pfizer’s|Claire Zillman, reporter|November 12, 2020|Fortune
There may be a burst of heavier rain Wednesday afternoon, and another late Wednesday night, as weak waves of low pressure develop along the front and move through.
Heavy rain and isolated flooding forecast for Washington region Wednesday into Thursday|Jeffrey Halverson, Jason Samenow|November 10, 2020|Washington Post

A burst pipe in the ceiling of Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, where Fulton County election officials had set up their vote-counting command center this fall, was perhaps the easiest of the challenges the staff faced in this singular year.
‘We will not allow anyone to stop us’: Day and night, under historic scrutiny, the nation’s vote counters carried on|Amy Gardner, Reis Thebault, Hannah Knowles, Michelle Lee|November 9, 2020|Washington Post
Minnie balls filled the stump I was behind, and the shells bursted within three feet of me.
A History of the Ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry|Marion Morrison
I could have made more if some of the papers hadnt bursted and spilt the candy in the road.
Three Little Women|Gabrielle E. Jackson
Of the artillery but two six-pounders were preserved; the cohorns were broken or buried, and the shells bursted.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, v. 13|Various
The Doctor pulled trigger with a sense of just indignation, and drew in his gun, the barrel bent at a right angle and bursted.
Miss Ravenel's conversion from secession to loyalty|J. W. de Forest
Others were bursted at the muzzle, showing that the tompion had not been removed before firing.
Ten years in the ranks, U.S. army|Augustus Meyers

British Dictionary definitions for burst

burst

/ (bɜːst) /

verb bursts, bursting or burst

to break or cause to break open or apart suddenly and noisily, esp from internal pressure; explode

(intr) to come, go, etc, suddenly and forciblyhe burst into the room

(intr) to be full to the point of breaking open

(intr) to give vent (to) suddenly or loudlyto burst into song

to cause or suffer the rupture ofto 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; spurta burst of speed

a sudden and violent emission, occurrence, or outbreaka burst of heavy rain; a burst of applause

a volley of fire from a weapon or weapons

adjective

broken apart; ruptureda burst pipe

Derived forms of burst

burster, 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

burst

OTHER WORDS FOR burst

Idioms about burst

Origin of burst

OTHER WORDS FROM burst

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH burst

Words related to burst

How to use burst in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for burst

Derived forms of burst

Word Origin for burst