Definitions

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

  • noun a serious quarrel (especially one that ends a friendship).

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

  • verb smash or break forcefully
  • noun a serious quarrel (especially one that ends a friendship)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Campbell later posted on Twitter: "Match tasty in parts" and said the "so-called bust-up" was "all a bit handbags".

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2011

  • We talked at length about civil rights because I thought that could be one of the bust-up points.

    The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010

  • We talked at length about civil rights because I thought that could be one of the bust-up points.

    The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010

  • We talked at length about civil rights because I thought that could be one of the bust-up points.

    The Good Fight Walter F. Mondale 2010

  • Mr Cameron should avoid another coalition bust-up that ends in forced retreat.

    Welfare: The best-laid plans | Editorial 2011

  • Speculation on why the Girls Aloud singer was dropped from the US show has ranged from suggestions that programme makers feared American viewers would not understand her Geordie accent to claims of a backstage bust-up with fellow judge Paula Abdul.

    Cheryl Cole will not return to X Factor as judges are named 2011

  • In fairness to Reo-Coker, who was wearing the captain's armband only a couple of months after being told to find another club and a little more than a year after his training ground bust-up with Martin O'Neill, there was much to admire about his part in the build-up.

    Stewart Downing's extra-time goal for Aston Villa denies Burnley Stuart James at Villa Park 2010

  • The bust-up over the bill, however, has made the whole approach controversial again.

    Health reforms: From malignant to muddled 2011

  • But should this prove a Democratic bust-up, the least the GOP can do is send the president a thank you.

    Thank Obama for the GOP Revival Kimberley A. Strassel 2010

  • If HSBC Holdings 'succession battle was a shambles, then UniCredit 's boardroom bust-up has been a fiasco.

    UniCredit's Boardroom Fiasco Simon Nixon 2010

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