different between bust vs blockbuster

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?st/
• Rhymes: -?st
• Homophones: bussed, bused

Etymology 1

From French buste < Italian busto, from Latin b?stum.

Noun

bust (plural busts)

1. A sculptural portrayal of a person's head and shoulders.
2. The breasts and upper thorax of a woman.
3. (economics) The downward portion of a boom and bust cycle; a recession.
4. (slang) A police raid or takedown of a criminal enterprise.
5. (slang) A disappointment.

Derived terms

• bust improver
• busty
• overbust
• underbust

Translations

Etymology 2

From a variant of burst. Compare German Low German basten and barsten (“to burst”).

Verb

bust (third-person singular simple present busts, present participle busting, simple past and past participle busted or bust)

1. (transitive, colloquial, chiefly US) To break.

   I busted my cooker while trying to fix it.

2. (transitive, slang) To arrest (someone) for a crime.
3. (transitive, 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. (snowboarding) An emphatic synonym of do or get.

5. (US, informal) To reduce in rank.
   • 1962, The Manchurian Candidate, 01:56:35

     If Steinkamp doesn't take off that hat and stop messing around, I'm gonna bust him into a PFC.

6. (finance, transitive) To undo a trade, generally an error trade, that has already been executed.
7. (poker) To lose all of one's chips.
8. (blackjack) To exceed a score of 21.
9. (transitive, slang) To break in (an animal).
10. (intransitive, slang) To ejaculate; to eject semen.
11. (journalism, intransitive) For a headline to exceed the amount of space reserved for it.
    • 1990, Paul Williams, The Computerized Newspaper: A Practical Guide for Systems Users (page 105)

      The temptation to squeeze in a favourite headline that busts by using the flexibility of new technology is often very strong.

    • 2007, Rob Steen, Sports Journalism: A Multimedia Primer (page 167)

      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.

Synonyms

• (to arrest for a crime): nick

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

bust (plural busts)

1. (slang) The act of arresting someone for a crime, or raiding a suspected criminal operation.

2. (slang) A failed enterprise; a bomb.
3. (chess, informal) A refutation of an opening, or of a previously published analysis.
4. (sports, derogatory) A player who fails to meet expectations.

Derived terms

• or bust

Translations

Adjective

bust (not comparable)

1. (slang) Without any money, broke, bankrupt.

   After months of financial problems, the company finally went bust.

Derived terms

• bust up/bust-up
• busted (adjective)
• buster

Anagrams

• BTUs, TBUs, but's, buts, stub, tubs

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin b?stum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /?bust/

Noun

bust m (plural busts or bustos)

1. bust (sculpture)
2. bust (breasts and upper thorax)

Further reading

• “bust” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

bust

1. second- and third-person singular present indicative of bussen
2. (archaic) plural imperative of bussen

Romanian

Etymology

From French buste.

Noun

bust n (plural busturi)

1. bust (sculpture)

Declension

English

Etymology

block +? buster

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bl?k?b?st?(?)/

Noun

blockbuster (plural blockbusters)

1. A high-explosive bomb used for the purposes of demolishing extensive areas, such as a city block.
2. (informal) Something, such as a film or book, that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales, as opposed to a box office bomb.
3. (slang) Anything very large or powerful; a whopper.
   • 1998, Yves Beauchemin, The Second Fiddle (page 383)

     “How nice," she responded to his invitation, “but I've got a blockbuster of a headache. I'm paying for last night. Call me tomorrow, will you?"

4. A large firework of the firecracker type; an M-80.
5. (US) One who engages in blockbusting (technique encouraging people to sell property).
   • 2016, Sabiyha Prince, African Americans and Gentrification in Washington, D.C. (page 106)

     Whereas White residents fell prey to blockbusters who stoked fears of invading Negroes and plummeting housing values during the 1950s, African Americans confronted more-than-imagined difficulties in neighborhoods after the 1968 riots.

Descendants

Translations

Related terms

• blockbust (verb form)
• block
• bust

Catalan

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

French

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Pronunciation

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

Portuguese

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

Further reading

• “blockbuster” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

   Synonyms: taquillazo, bombazo