bursting

adj, noun — 4 senses

bursting

adj

US /ˈbɝstɪŋ/ · UK /ˈbɜːstɪŋ/

1

Very eager (to do something).

I was bursting to tell him the secret.

2

Often, Followed by "to go to..." Urgently needing to urinate.

Can you tell me where the toilets are? I'm bursting.
The kid is bursting to go to the toilet.

3

So full (with something) as almost to erupt.

The newly stocked refrigerator is bursting with fresh vegetables.
Her heart was bursting with repressed emotion.

Synonyms: busting
Derived terms: burstingly, nonbursting, outbursting, superbursting, upbursting

bursting

noun

1

The act by which something bursts.

the burstings of balloons
The locomotive involved in the derailment of the 4.33 a.m. train from Ruabon to Barmouth on the night of October 6, due to the bursting of the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal near Llangollen, was 2-6-0 No. 6315; the position into which the locomotive fell so completely defied all attempts to re-rail it that it was cut up on the spot.1946 January and February, “Notes and News: Locomotive Notes: G.W.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 55:

1 more example

Serious as was the flood damage in England, the bursting of some of the dykes on the coast of Holland resulted in an even more widespread and devastating inundation.1953 April, “Devastation in Holland”, in Railway Magazine, page 217:

Derived terms: bursting pressure, pipe bursting

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.