bust

(bŭst)

1. A sculpture representing a person's head, shoulders, and upper chest.
2. a. A woman's bosom.
   b. The human chest.

(bŭst)

1. Slang
   a. To smash or break, especially forcefully: “Mr. Luger worked it with a rake, busting up the big clods, making a flat brown table” (Garrison Keillor).
   b. To render inoperable or unusable: busted the vending machine by putting in foreign coins.
2. To cause to come to an end; break up: an attempt to bust the union.
3. To break or tame (a horse).
4. To cause to become bankrupt or short of money: “Too often, the promise of a high-tech design leads to a weapon that busts the budget” (Business Week).
5. Slang To reduce in rank. See Synonyms at demote.
6. To hit; punch.
7. Slang
   a. To place under arrest.
   b. To make a police raid on.

1. Slang
   a. To undergo breakage; become broken.
   b. To burst; break: “Several companies have threatened to bust out of their high-wage contracts by the dubious technique of declaring bankruptcy” (Washington Post).
2. To become bankrupt or short of money.
3. Games To lose at blackjack by exceeding a score of 21.

1. A failure; a flop: “The home-style bean curd is a bust, oily and rubbery” (Mark and Gail Barnett).
2. A state of bankruptcy.
3. A time or period of widespread financial depression: “Bankers consider the region's diversified economy to be good protection against a possible real estate bust” (American Banker).
4. A punch; a blow.
5. A spree: a fraternity beer bust.
6. Slang
   a. An arrest.
   b. A raid.