busted
Americanadjective
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broken, fractured, or seriously damaged.
a busted leg.
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no longer working or operating.
a busted radio.
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penniless or bankrupt; broke.
busted businesses that can’t pay their bills.
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I never talk about my busted marriages.
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in trouble; caught doing something bad or wrong.
I know that’s a lie—you are so busted!
adjective
Etymology
Origin of busted
First recorded in 1835–40; bust 2 ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )
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.
Newly appointed BBC chief Matt Brittin recently described the licence fee as a "busted flush"
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
“There are hundreds of busted, dangerous sidewalks in South L A that have gone unrepaired for years,” he wrote to his network of followers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2026
Louis, in comparison, is kinda busted — gloomy, tortured, unable to fully embrace the everlasting banquet Lestat has laid out for him.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
If he’s still standing at the end, even if Creed has busted his head open, “I’m gonna know for the first time in my life that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
The tube had been busted, all right, but like JimmyTrotter described it, there was something beautiful about it.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
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.
