buster

[buhs-ter] /ˈbʌs tər/
noun, Informal.
1.
a person who breaks up something:
crime busters.
2.
something that is very big or unusual for its kind.
3.
a loud, uproarious reveler.
4.
a frolic; spree.
5.
(initial capital letter) (used as a familiar term of address to a man or boy who is an object to the speaker's annoyance or anger):
Look, Buster, you're standing in my way!
Origin
1825-35, Americanism; bust2 + -er1

Buster

[buhs-ter] /ˈbʌs tər/
noun
1.
a male given name.

bust2

[buhst] /bʌst/
verb (used without object)
1.
Informal.
  1. to burst.
  2. to go bankrupt.
  3. to collapse from the strain of making a supreme effort:
    She was determined to make straight A's or bust.
2.
Cards.
  1. Draw Poker. to fail to make a flush or straight by one card.
  2. Blackjack. to draw cards exceeding the count of 21.
verb (used with object)
3.
Informal.
  1. to burst.
  2. to bankrupt; ruin financially.
4.
to demote, especially in military rank or grade:
He was busted from sergeant to private three times.
5.
to tame; break:
to bust a bronco.
6.
Slang.
  1. to place under arrest:
    The gang was busted and put away on narcotics charges.
  2. to subject to a police raid:
    The bar has been busted three times for selling drinks to minors.
7.
Informal.
  1. to hit.
  2. to break; fracture:
    She fell and busted her arm.
noun
8.
a failure.
9.
Informal. a hit; sock; punch:
He got a bust in the nose before he could put up his hands.
10.
a sudden decline in the economic conditions of a country, marked by an extreme drop in stock-market prices, business activity, and employment; depression.
11.
Slang.
  1. an arrest.
  2. a police raid.
12.
Informal. a drinking spree; binge.
13.
Cards.
  1. a very weak hand.
  2. Bridge. a hand lacking the potential to take a single trick.
adjective
14.
Informal. bankrupt; broke.
Verb phrases
15.
bust up, Informal.
  1. to break up; separate:
    Sam and his wife busted up a year ago.
  2. to damage or destroy:
    Soldiers got in a fight and busted up the bar.
Idioms
16.
bust ass, Slang: Vulgar. to fight with the fists; strike or thrash another.
17.
bust on, Slang.
  1. to attack physically; beat up.
  2. to criticize or reprimand harshly.
  3. to make fun of or laugh at; mock.
  4. to inform on.
18.
bust one's ass, Slang: Vulgar. to make an extreme effort; exert oneself.
Origin
1755-65; variant of burst, by loss of r before s, as in ass2, bass2, passel, etc.
Usage note
Historically bust is derived from a dialect pronunciation of burst and is related to it much as cuss is related to curse. Bust is both a noun and a verb and has a wide range of meanings for both uses. Many are slang or informal. A few, as “a decline in economic conditions, depression,” are standard.
Examples from the web for buster
  • You're saving us right out of a space program, buster.
  • For many jet-setters, this restriction is a career-buster.
  • It can be used as a ground penetrating bunker buster.
  • You'd think the moon hoax would have been one of the block buster things revealed.
  • Which means bunker buster bombs that limit casualties on the surface even further.
  • On the plus side, the plan is less of a deficit-buster than it first appears.
  • He is a hypocrisy-buster, a truth-teller, a scatological sage.
  • buster is neutered, vaccinated for rabies and distemper, chipped and on heartworm preventive.
  • buster dragged himself out of bed and grumbled all the way to the bathroom.
  • buster the steamroller, a member of the pack, has also appeared in the tv series.
British Dictionary definitions for buster

buster

/ˈbʌstə/
noun (slang)
1.
(in combination) a person or thing destroying something as specified: dambuster
2.
(US & Canadian) a term of address for a boy or man
3.
(US & Canadian) a person who breaks horses
4.
(mainly US & Canadian) a spree, esp a drinking bout

bust1

/bʌst/
noun
1.
the chest of a human being, esp a woman's bosom
2.
a sculpture of the head, shoulders, and upper chest of a person
Word Origin
C17: from French buste, from Italian busto a sculpture, of unknown origin

bust2

/bʌst/
verb busts, busting, busted, bust
1.
to burst or break
2.
to make or become bankrupt
3.
(transitive) (of the police) to raid, search, or arrest: the girl was busted for drugs
4.
(transitive) (US & Canadian) to demote, esp in military rank
5.
(transitive) (US & Canadian) to break or tame (a horse, etc)
6.
(transitive) (mainly US) to punch; hit
7.
bust a gut, See gut (sense 9)
noun
8.
a raid, search, or arrest by the police
9.
(mainly US) a punch; hit
10.
(US & Canadian) a failure, esp a financial one; bankruptcy
11.
a drunken party
adjective
12.
broken
13.
bankrupt
14.
go bust, to become bankrupt
Word Origin
C19: from a dialect pronunciation of burst
Word Origin and History for buster
n.

1838, "anything large; a man of great strength," American English slang (originally Missouri/Arkansas), perhaps meaning something that takes one's breath away and an agent noun from bust (v.). Around the same years, buster (as an extended form of bust (n.)) also meant "a frolic, a spree." Hence "a roistering blade" (OED; probably not the favored definition in old Missouri and Arkansas), attested from 1850. As a generic or playful address to a male, from 1948, American English. Meaning "horse-breaker" is from 1891, American English; hence back-formed verb bust (v.) "break a horse."

bust

n.

1690s, "sculpture of upper torso and head," from French buste (16c.), from Italian busto "upper body," from Latin bustum "funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre, place where corpses are burned," perhaps shortened from ambustum, neuter of ambustus "burned around," past participle of amburere "burn around, scorch," from ambi- "around" + urere "to burn." Or perhaps from Old Latin boro, the early form of classical Latin uro "to burn." Sense development in Italian is probably from Etruscan custom of keeping dead person's ashes in an urn shaped like the person when alive. Meaning "bosom" is by 1884.

variant of burst (n.), 1764, American English. For loss of -r-, cf. ass (n.2). Originally "frolic, spree;" sense of "sudden failure" is from 1842. Meaning "police raid or arrest" is from 1938. Phrase ______ or bust as an emphatic expression attested by 1851 in British depictions of Western U.S. dialect. Probably from earlier expression bust (one's) boiler, by late 1840s, a reference to steamboat boilers exploding when driven too hard.

v.

"to burst," 1806, variant of burst (v.); for loss of -r-, cf. ass (n.2). Meaning "go bankrupt" is from 1834. Meaning "break into" is from 1859. The slang meaning "demote" (especially in a military sense) is from 1918; that of "place under arrest" is from 1953 (earlier "to raid" from Prohibition). In card games, "to go over a score of 21," from 1939. Related: Busted; busting.

Slang definitions & phrases for buster

buster 1

combining word

Someone or something that destroys, thwarts, or otherwise defeats what or who is indicated •Revived by an early 1980s film comedy called Ghostbusters creating forms like blockbuster/ chartbuster/ gangbuster/ gridlock buster/ fuzz buster/ troll buster/ virus buster (1930s+)

noun
  1. A splendid person, esp a robust one; beaut, corker: He was a buster nigh as big as his Mammy (1840s+)
  2. (also Buster) Man; fellow; guy, brother •Used in direct address with a somewhat hostile tone: Down the hall to the back room, buster (1860s+)
Related Terms

ball-buster, belly-whopper, bronco buster, bun-buster, cloud-buster, conk-buster, kidney-buster, skull-buster


buster 2

noun

A weak or treacherous gang member; mark: Bogard accused Compton of being a ''buster,'' meaning he was weak and unwilling to defend the gang's interests/ No fucking way. I ain't no buster!

[1990s+ Street gang; probably fr gangbuster]


bust

adjective
  1. Out of funds; destitute; broke (1840s+)
  2. A police raid: One whiff of marijuana and we get a bust (1930s+)
  3. An arrest; collar: Beating a Bust: Two Views (1918+)
  4. That one bust decked me
  5. A failure; fiasco: My try for her sweet favors was a total bust (1840s+)
  6. A person who fails; loser, nonstarter: At baseball I was a risible bust (1920s+)
  7. A spree; drinking bout: took his paycheck and went on a bust (1840+)
verb
  1. To break: I busted my nose (1806+)
  2. o disperse or chase a rival street gang (1950s+ Street gang)
  3. To reduce in rank; demote: He got busted from buck sergeant to buck private (late 1800s+ Army)
  4. To tame a wild horse for riding: Two rides will usually bust a bronco so that the average cow-puncher can use him (1890s+ Cowboys)
  5. o break open a safe, vault, etc; also, burglarize a place (1890s+ Underworld)
  6. : I've been busted, bring bail
  7. To catch someone in an illegal or immoral act (1950s+ Teenagers)
  8. To hit someone: She busted me in the kishkes (1808+)
  9. To fail an examination or course; flunk •The standard form burst is found in the 1850s: I miserably busted the econ final (1900+ College students)
Related Terms

beer bust, go broke


Idioms and Phrases with buster

bust

also see: