Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Smashed or broken.
  • adjective Out of order; inoperable.
  • adjective Bankrupt or out of funds.
  • adjective Tamed or broken.
  • adjective Slang Placed under arrest.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Broken; bankrupt; ruined: as, a busted bank; a busted miner.
  • Adorned with busts.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective informal Inoperable due to damage; broken; -- of a machine.
  • adjective informal Arrested for committing a crime; -- of a person.
  • adjective same as demoted; -- said especially of military rank, and often folowed by to.
  • adjective same as exhausted; -- of people.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having a certain type of bust (breasts; cleavage).
  • adjective slang Broke; having no money.
  • adjective slang Caught in the act of doing something one shouldn't do.
  • adjective slang Extremely ugly.
  • adjective slang Tired.
  • adjective slang Broken.
  • verb Simple past tense and past participle of bust.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective out of working order (`busted' is an informal substitute for `broken')

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See bust (Etymology 1)

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

See bust (Etymology 2)

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Examples

  • The absolute lightning reaction speed of just about any animal turning on the juice after you're busted is something to behold.

    How to Draw Down on a Turkey 2009

  • The absolute lightning reaction speed of just about any animal turning on the juice after you're busted is something to behold.

    How to Draw Down on a Turkey 2009

  • And when Ryan Torain busted free for a 13-yard run, Portis gave him a huge high-five as they crossed paths on the field.

    Redskins-Eagles, Best and Worst Dan Steinberg 2010

  • But bad management too, financial problems for the city, a prison riot, and in his third term busted for using crack cocaine.

    CNN Transcript Jan 11, 2006 2006

  • First there's somebody with my name busted for heroin in New Orleans a week ago, then yet another Gary Burnett appears here via David Gans.

    The WELL: Truckin' Robert Hunter 2005

  • The Indians could no more be measured and "busted" -- as the professor calls the making of plaster casts -- than could the liquor they had drunk.

    In Indian Mexico (1908) Frederick Starr 1895

  • THE Jesus wasn’t overly religious either — in fact the reason he got busted is he advocated for getting rid of complex, ossified organized religion.

    A rerun as requested: Rejoice this day! 2010

  • When the mutawwa'in busted the party that led to Marcos’s deportation, they separated the “showgirls” wearing drag from the rest of the partygoers, and then asked everyone but the drag queens to line up against the wall for the dawn prayer.

    The Kingdom in the Closet 2007

  • When the mutawwa'in busted the party that led to Marcos’s deportation, they separated the “showgirls” wearing drag from the rest of the partygoers, and then asked everyone but the drag queens to line up against the wall for the dawn prayer.

    The Kingdom in the Closet 2007

  • I love that you used the word busted — even if you just meant beat up, I’m going to imagine that you meant it as slang for ugly.

    key lime meltaways | smitten kitchen 2008

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  • :-(

    October 28, 2008