Adjacent Words

Burst definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BURST, v.i. pret. and pp. burst. The old participle bursten is nearly obsolete.
1. To fly or break open with force, or with sudden violence; to suffer a violent disruption. The peculiar force of this word is, in expressing a sudden rupture, with violence, or expansion, or both. Hence it is generally used to signify the sudden rupture of a thing by internal force,and a liberation from confinement; as, to burst from a prison; the heart bursts with grief.
2. To break away; to spring from; as, to burst from the arms.
3. To come or fall upon suddenly or with violence; to rush upon unexpectedly; as, a sound bursts upon our ears.
4. To issue suddenly, or to come from a hidden or retired place into more open view; as, a river bursts from a valley; a spring bursts from the earth.
5. To break forth into action suddenly; as, to burst into tears.
6. To break or rush in with violence; as, to burst into a house or a room.
It is often followed by an intensive particle; as, out, forth, away, from, or asunder.
BURST, v.t. To break or rend by force or violence; to open suddenly; as, to burst a chain or a door; to burst a cannon.
BURST, n. A sudden disruption; a violent rending; more appropriately, a sudden explosion or shooting forth; as a burst of thunder; a burst of applause, a burst of passion.
1. A rupture, a hernia, or the unnatural protrusion of the contents of the abdomen.
BURST, or BURST'EN, pp. or a. Affected with a rupture or hernia.
BURST, pp. Opened or rent asunder by violence.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of exploding or bursting; "the explosion of the firecrackers awoke the children"; "the burst of an atom bomb creates enormous radiation aloft" [syn: explosion, burst]
2: rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms; "our fusillade from the left flank caught them by surprise" [syn: fusillade, salvo, volley, burst]
3: a sudden flurry of activity (often for no obvious reason); "a burst of applause"; "a fit of housecleaning" [syn: burst, fit]
4: a sudden intense happening; "an outburst of heavy rain"; "a burst of lightning" [syn: outburst, burst, flare-up] v
1: come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure; "The bubble burst" [syn: burst, split, break open]
2: force out or release suddenly and often violently something pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger" [syn: break, burst, erupt]
3: burst outward, usually with noise; "The champagne bottle exploded" [syn: explode, burst] [ant: go off, implode]
4: move suddenly, energetically, or violently; "He burst out of the house into the cool night"
5: be in a state of movement or action; "The room abounded with screaming children"; "The garden bristled with toddlers" [syn: abound, burst, bristle]
6: emerge suddenly; "The sun burst into view"
7: cause to burst; "The ice broke the pipe" [syn: collapse, burst]
8: break open or apart suddenly and forcefully; "The dam burst" [syn: burst, bust]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (burst; also bursted; bursting) Etymology: Middle English bersten, from Old English berstan; akin to Old High German brestan to burst Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to break open, apart, or into pieces usually from impact or from pressure from within 2. a. to give way from an excess of emotion <my heart will burst> b. to give vent suddenly to a repressed emotion <burst into tears> <burst out laughing> 3. a. to emerge or spring suddenly <burst out of the house> <burst onto the scene> b. launch, plunge <burst into song> 4. to be filled to the breaking point <bursting with excitement> <a crate bursting with fruit> transitive verb 1. to cause to burst <burst a balloon> 2. a. to force open (as a door or a way) by strong or vigorous action b. to flood over <the river burst its banks> 3. to produce by or as if by bursting II. noun Date: 1610 1. a. a sudden outbreak; especially a vehement outburst (as of emotion) b. explosion, eruption c. a sudden intense effort <a burst of speed> d. the duration of fire in one engagement of the mechanism of an automatic firearm 2. an act of bursting 3. a result of bursting; especially a visible puff accompanying the explosion of a shell

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. (past and past part. burst) 1 a intr. break suddenly and violently apart by expansion of contents or internal pressure. b tr. cause to do this. c tr. send (a container etc.) violently apart. 2 a tr. open forcibly. b intr. come open or be opened forcibly. 3 a intr. (usu. foll. by in, out) make one's way suddenly, dramatically, or by force. b tr. break away from or through (the river burst its banks). 4 tr. & intr. fill or be full to overflowing. 5 intr. appear or come suddenly (burst into flame; burst upon the view; sun burst out). 6 intr. (foll. by into) suddenly begin to shed or utter (esp. burst into tears or laughter or song). 7 intr. be as if about to burst because of effort, excitement, etc. 8 tr. suffer bursting of (burst a blood-vessel). 9 tr. separate (continuous stationery) into single sheets. --n. 1 the act of or an instance of bursting; a split. 2 a sudden issuing forth (burst of flame). 3 a sudden outbreak (burst of applause). 4 a a short sudden effort; a spurt. b a gallop. 5 an explosion. Phrases and idioms: burst out 1 suddenly begin (burst out laughing). 2 exclaim. Etymology: OE berstan f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Burst Burst, n. 1. A sudden breaking forth; a violent rending; an explosion; as, a burst of thunder; a burst of applause; a burst of passion; a burst of inspiration. Bursts of fox-hunting melody. --W. Irving. 2. Any brief, violent exertion or effort; a spurt; as, a burst of speed. 3. A sudden opening, as of landscape; a stretch; an expanse. [R.] ``A fine burst of country.'' --Jane Austen. 4. A rupture or hernia; a breach.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Burst Burst, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burst; p. pr. & vb. n. Bursting. The past participle bursten is obsolete.] [OE. bersten, bresten, AS. berstan (pers. sing. berste, imp. sing. b[ae]rst, imp. pl. burston, p. p. borsten); akin to D. bersten, G. bersten, OHG. brestan, OS. brestan, Icel. bresta, Sw. brista, Dan. briste. Cf. Brast, Break.] 1. To fly apart or in pieces; of break open; to yield to force or pressure, especially to a sudden and violent exertion of force, or to pressure from within; to explode; as, the boiler had burst; the buds will burst in spring. From the egg that soon Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed Their callow young. --Milton. Note: Often used figuratively, as of the heart, in reference to a surcharge of passion, grief, desire, etc. No, no, my heart will burst, an if I speak: And I will speak, that so my heart may burst. --Shak. 2. To exert force or pressure by which something is made suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; -- usually with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out, away, into, upon, through, etc. Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth. --Milton. And now you burst (ah cruel!) from my arms. --Pope. A resolved villain Whose bowels suddenly burst out. --Shak. We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. --Coleridge. To burst upon him like an earthquake. --Goldsmith.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Burst Burst, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burst; p. pr. & vb. n. Bursting. The past participle bursten is obsolete.] [OE. bersten, bresten, AS. berstan (pers. sing. berste, imp. sing. b[ae]rst, imp. pl. burston, p. p. borsten); akin to D. bersten, G. bersten, OHG. brestan, OS. brestan, Icel. bresta, Sw. brista, Dan. briste. Cf. Brast, Break.] 1. To fly apart or in pieces; of break open; to yield to force or pressure, especially to a sudden and violent exertion of force, or to pressure from within; to explode; as, the boiler had burst; the buds will burst in spring. From the egg that soon Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed Their callow young. --Milton. Note: Often used figuratively, as of the heart, in reference to a surcharge of passion, grief, desire, etc. No, no, my heart will burst, an if I speak: And I will speak, that so my heart may burst. --Shak. 2. To exert force or pressure by which something is made suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; -- usually with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out, away, into, upon, through, etc. Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth. --Milton. And now you burst (ah cruel!) from my arms. --Pope. A resolved villain Whose bowels suddenly burst out. --Shak. We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea. --Coleridge. To burst upon him like an earthquake. --Goldsmith.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Burst Burst (b[^u]rst), v. t. 1. To break or rend by violence, as by an overcharge or by strain or pressure, esp. from within; to force open suddenly; as, to burst a cannon; to burst a blood vessel; to burst open the doors. My breast I'll burst with straining of my courage. --Shak. 2. To break. [Obs.] You will not pay for the glasses you have burst? --Shak. He burst his lance against the sand below. --Fairfax (Tasso). 3. To produce as an effect of bursting; as, to burst a hole through the wall. Bursting charge. See under Charge.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bursts, bursting) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. Note: The form 'burst' is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle. 1. If something bursts or if you burst it, it suddenly breaks open or splits open and the air or other substance inside it comes out. The driver lost control when a tyre burst... It is not a good idea to burst a blister. ...a flood caused by a burst pipe. VERB: V, V n, V-ed 2. If a dam bursts, or if something bursts it, it breaks apart because the force of the river is too great. A dam burst and flooded their villages. VERB: V, also V n 3. If a river bursts its banks, the water rises and goes on to the land. Monsoons caused the river to burst its banks. VERB: V n 4. When a door or lid bursts open, it opens very suddenly and violently because someone pushes it or there is great pressure behind it. The door burst open and an angry young nurse appeared. = fly VERB: V open/apart 5. To burst into or out of a place means to enter or leave it suddenly with a lot of energy or force. Gunmen burst into his home and opened fire... = rush VERB: V prep/adv 6. If you say that something bursts onto the scene, you mean that it suddenly starts or becomes active, usually after developing quietly for some time. (JOURNALISM) He burst onto the fashion scene in the early 1980s. VERB: V onto/upon n 7. A burst of something is a sudden short period of it. ...a burst of machine-gun fire... The current flows in little bursts. N-COUNT: usu N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Break open (from internal pressure), fly open, be rent asunder, explode, blow up, split, split open, crack. 2. Break (out or forth or upon) suddenly. II. v. a. Rend asunder, break open, split apart. III. n. 1. Explosion. See bursting. 2. Sudden rush, outpouring, gust, breaking forth.

Moby Thesaurus

access, ado, aggravated, agitation, antiaircraft barrage, backfire, bang, bark, barrage, belch, blast, blaze, blaze of temper, blow out, blow up, blowout, blowup, bombardment, boom, bother, botheration, box barrage, breach, break, break open, break up, breakage, broadside, broken, bump, burned, burst, burst of speed, bury, bust, busted, bustle, cache, cannonade, cannonry, canter, cascade, check, checked, chip, chipped, clap, clash, cleft, coffin, come apart, come unstuck, commotion, conceal, convulsion, cover, crack, cracked, crash, crazed, creeping barrage, crump, cut, cyclone, damaged, dash, dead run, debouchment, deflagration, deteriorated, detonate, detonation, discharge, disintegrate, dissiliency, dive, dogtrot, drive, drumfire, embittered, emergency barrage, enfilade, ensconce, entomb, eructation, eruption, exacerbated, exfoliate, explode, explosion, fall to pieces, feery-fary, ferment, fidgetiness, fire, fissure, fit, flank speed, flap, flare, flare up, flare-up, flash, flash fire, flat-out speed, flop, flurry, fluster, flutter, flutteriness, forced draft, fracture, fragment, fulguration, full gallop, fulminate, fulmination, fusillade, fuss, fussiness, gale, gallop, gap, give away, give way, go off, gunshot, gush, gust, hand gallop, harmed, headlong rush, heavy right foot, hide, high lope, high words, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurricane, hurt, impaired, imperfect, in bits, in pieces, in shards, inhume, injured, inter, inurn, irritated, irruption, jet, jog trot, knock, lacerated, lay away, lay to rest, let off, lope, lunge, maelstrom, mangled, maximum speed, mortar barrage, mushroom, mutilated, normal barrage, occult, open throttle, outbreak, outburst, paroxysm, pash, pitch, plant, plunge, pop, pother, puncture, put away, race, rap, rapids, rent, report, restlessness, rift, rip, rive, run, rupture, ruptured, rush, sally, salvo, scalded, scale, scamper, scene, scorched, scramble, screen, scud, scurry, scuttle, secrete, seizure, sepulcher, sepulture, set off, shatter, shattered, shiver, shoot, shot, shower, slam, slap, slash, slashed, slat, slice, slit, smack, smash, smashed, smatter, snap, spasm, spate, spew, splat, splinter, split, spray, spring a leak, sprint, sprung, spurt, standing barrage, start, stash, stew, stir, storm, swap, sweat, swirl, tap, tear, tempest, the worse for, thwack, to-do, tomb, torn, tornado, torrent, touch off, trot, tumult, unquiet, upheaval, volcan, volley, vortex, weakened, whack, wham, whap, whirl, whirlwind, whomp, whop, wide-open speed, worse, worse off, worsened