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.
Baldwin Park police have busted a massive catalytic converter theft ring after a nine-month investigation, authorities said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
An orange car pulled into the parking lot, with a busted taillight, and a few members of the group got up and hobbled over.
From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026
Multilingual scripts, images of young women and timed toilet breaks: a police tour of a newly busted cyberscam operation in Cambodia on Wednesday revealed how fraudsters ensnare foreign victims online.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
Perhaps the biggest myth that has been busted so far: During its early days, bitcoin was said to be a hedge against fiscal excess, government money-printing and inflation.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
Sure enough, it looked like all the vents in the ceiling had busted grates—as though a whole lot of something had fallen through them recently.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
