bust

I UK [bʌst] / US noun
Word forms "bust":
singular bust plural busts
*

1) [countable] a model of the head and shoulders of a person made out of stone, wood, metal etc

a bust of Shakespeare

2) [countable] a woman's breasts, used especially when taking their measurements

Measure the hips, waist, and bust.

3) [countable] informal an occasion when the police go into a place to search it for illegal goods or activities, especially those relating to drugs

4) [singular] mainly American informal a complete failure

The movie was a bust.

II UK [bʌst] / US verb [transitive]
Word forms "bust":
present tense I/you/we/they bust he/she/it busts present participle busting past tense bust or busted past participle bust or busted informal

1) to break or damage something very badly

I busted my knee playing basketball.

Thieves busted the lock and damaged the sliding door.

2)

a) [usually passive] if someone is busted, they are arrested, especially for offences relating to drugs

bust someone for something:

He's been busted for drug trafficking.

b) if the police bust a place, they search it for illegal goods or activities, especially those relating to drugs

3) bust or bust up to stop an activity or organization from continuing to happen or exist

Businessmen hired mobsters to bust the unions.

•

...or bust — spoken used for saying that you will try extremely hard to succeed in something

It's Hollywood or bust.

Phrasal verbs:

- bust out

- bust up

III UK [bʌst] / US adjective informal

1) a company or organization that is bust has lost all its money and can no longer continue to operate

go bust:

The company went bust after only a year in business.

2) British broken

My watch is bust.