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.
He smiled after I busted him for looking, which made me recoil in horror and quickly dart over to hide in the pet food aisle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Newly appointed BBC chief Matt Brittin recently described the licence fee as a "busted flush"
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 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 you went to the hospital with a busted knee, they would fix it, and that would cost more than an IVF cycle.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
They say his big mouth got one of them busted for shoplifting.
From "The Skin I'm In" by Sharon G. Flake
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.
