burst
Americanverb (used without object)
-
bursts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burst,
past participle, past
-
bursted,
past participle, past
-
bursting
present participle
-
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)
-
bursts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
burst,
past participle, past
-
bursted,
past participle, past
-
bursting
present participle
noun
-
bursts
plural
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- spurt
-
a sudden expression or manifestation, as of emotion.
a burst of affection.
- Synonyms:
- outbreak
-
a sudden and violent issuing forth.
a burst of steam from the pipe.
- Synonyms:
- outbreak
-
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.
idioms
verb
-
to break or cause to break open or apart suddenly and noisily, esp from internal pressure; explode
-
(intr) to come, go, etc, suddenly and forcibly
he burst into the room
-
(intr) to be full to the point of breaking open
-
(intr) to give vent (to) suddenly or loudly
to burst into song
-
to cause or suffer the rupture of
to 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; spurt
a burst of speed
-
a sudden and violent emission, occurrence, or outbreak
a burst of heavy rain
a burst of applause
-
a volley of fire from a weapon or weapons
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
burstsimple
-
burstssimple
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have burstperfect
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have burstedperfect
-
has burstperfect
-
has burstedperfect
-
am burstingprogressive
-
are burstingprogressive
-
is burstingprogressive
-
have been burstingperfect progressive
-
has been burstingperfect progressive
Past
-
burstsimple
-
burstedsimple
-
had burstperfect
-
had burstedperfect
-
was burstingprogressive
-
were burstingprogressive
-
had been burstingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
A burst is a sudden flurry of activity. Bursts of energy are helpful in shoveling heavy snow, but it's better if you work steadily instead of shoveling fast and stopping. As a verb, burst is your go-to action word to describe something sudden and energetic happening. It usually means, "to explode outward, with noise" like if you burst into song in the middle of study hall, startling everyone. It also means, “to split open in a violent way due to internal pressure” like an overfilled water balloon. It comes from the Old English word berstan, meaning "break suddenly."
Vocabulary lists containing burst
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 2
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
In March 2000, as the bubble burst, shares of companies in the business of transmitting data, or networking, plummeted too.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Before hitting the stage for Sheeran’s Loop tour, Macklemore famously burst onto the music scene in 2012 as part of the duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
I’m about to dismiss this guide as a wuss when a sudden burst of deafening growls just beyond the edge of our campsite lends credence to his words.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Monday will bring a short-lived burst of warmth and sunshine before temperatures drop to levels more typical for September later in the week.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Katherine looked so excited she might burst, like a Miss America contestant waiting to hear her own name called.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The club music that accompanies Claire’s bodybuilder retinue is funny the first time; less so on subsequent bursts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Like bursts of bright color, the scenes of this original novel must be appreciated in the moment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Hardware depreciates and demand comes in bursts, so a bought machine sits idle between them, as the price of processing falls every year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
These are very brief bursts of brain activity that can interrupt the normal sleep cycle without causing someone to become fully awake.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 29, 2026
It seemingly had driven the snow clouds from us, for, with only occasional bursts, the snow fell.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Postal Service truck had slid 50 feet down an embankment, and the “box containing the frankfurters was bursted open and the contents strewn considerably,” Alexander wrote to a U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
“Cordage has collapsed like a bursted meteor,” reported the Commercial and Financial Chronicle, “and the other industrials have all of them shared to a considerable extent in the decline.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2024
It bursted out of TikTok and into the mainstream last month, when Shakira performed the “Jiggle Jiggle” dance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2022
Minnesota bursted out to a 23-0 lead at halftime as Pittsburgh struggled on offense and with run defense.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2021
I bursted that comet bat all to pieces and hit a foul.
From Harper's Round Table, October 8, 1895 by Various
Thirty years after bursting onto the video game scene, Lara Croft returns in a new "Tomb Raider" that plays up the pistol-wielding architect's "complicated" character.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
The pessimists were quick to warn that the AI bubble was bursting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
More recently, the S&P 500 suffered through a lost decade during the 2000s, hurt by the one-two punch of the dot-com bubble bursting, and, later, the 2008 financial crisis.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
Each half of the film reflects the character it follows, the first part frenetic, densely packed and bursting with music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
I finally make it through the gate, bursting through to the other side and gulping air.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
