Etymology From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.
Slang To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime.
Aaron got busted by the feds for leaking confidential government documents on Reddit.
3
Slang To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state.
4
To debunk, dispel (a belief).
MythBusters
5
Hobbies, Lifestyle, Snowboarding, Sports An emphatic synonym of do or get.
A few weeks later, Richard was killed accidentally while busting a wild mustang […]1997, Charles Oswald, Gone with the Western Wind:
11
Slang To have sex with (a woman or girl) for the first time, to take another's virginity.
Smith hears Nancy's protests - "Don't ... no, please don't." - when Hicock menaces her with "You ever had a man?" Finding Hicock rubbing her thigh as she whimpers in fear, Smith confronts him about his intentions, and Hicock says, "First, I'm going to bust that little girl." Smith tells him no, but Hicock replies, "What do you care? You can bust her too."2014, Tison Pugh, Truman Capote: A Literary Life at the Movies, page 127:
12
Slang, Vulgar To ejaculate; to eject semen or to squirt.
I busted a fat one just wackin' it to the selfie she sent me.
After ten times we fucked, I think I bust twice He was nice, kept my neck filled with ice1996, Lil' Kim, “Not Tonight”:
13
Journalism, Media For a headline to exceed the amount of space reserved for it.
The temptation to squeeze in a favourite headline that busts by using the flexibility of new technology is often very strong.1990, Paul Williams, The Computerized Newspaper: A Practical Guide for Systems Users, page 105:
If your headline busts (breaks the confines of the layout) you will know straightaway. Similarly, the computer will inform you, in terms of the number of lines, how much longer or shorter the copy is in relation to the space allotted.2007, Rob Steen, Sports Journalism: A Multimedia Primer, page 167:
Etymology From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.
Etymology From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.
Etymology Borrowed from French buste, from Italian busto (“torso, upper body”), from Latin bustum (“funeral monument, tomb," originally "funeral pyre, place where corpses are burned”). Perhaps shortened from Latin ambustum, neuter of ambustus (“scorched”), past participle of ambūrō (“burn all over, scorch”), from ambi- (“around”) + ūrō (“to burn”).
1
A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders.
2
A woman's breasts; the circumference of her chest measured around the breasts.