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Synonyms

bust-up

American  
[buhst-uhp] / ˈbʌstˌʌp /

noun

Informal.

  1. a separation or dissolution, as of a marriage or a close friendship.

  2. a large party, especially a noisy one.

  3. Chiefly British. a quarrel; disturbance; punch-up.

bust-up British  

noun

  1. a quarrel, esp a serious one ending a friendship, etc

  2. a disturbance or brawl

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to quarrel and part

  2. (tr) to disrupt (a meeting), esp violently

"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

Etymology

Origin of bust-up

First recorded in 1840–50; noun use of verb phrase bust up

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.

And this isn't a bust-up between buddies that will easily blow over.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

But worse was to follow three minutes later with the scarcely believable bust-up between Gueye and Keane.

From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025

Takaichi has given little indication that she is rattled by the bust-up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

The Taoiseach will also be the first EU leader to return to the Oval Office since the President's bust-up with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2025

I knowed Mr. Leroy’s heart was so bust-up that I was gonna have to do the thinking for both of us.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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.