burst
//bɝst//
Forms
- present (v1)
- burst
- past (v2)
- burst
- past participle (v3)
- burst
- present participle
- bursting
- 3rd person singular
- bursts
- Plural
- bursts
Definitions
1.To break from internal pressure.
- I blew the balloon up too much, and it burst.
2.To cause to break from internal pressure.
- I burst the balloon when I blew it up too much.
3.To separate (printer paper) at perforation lines.
- I printed the report on form-feed paper, then burst the sheets.
4.To enter or exit hurriedly and unexpectedly.
1.A sudden, often intense, expression, manifestation or display.
- "It's my wedding-day," cried Biddy, in a burst of happiness, "and I am married to Joe!"
- I read it in two bursts.
- It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts.
2.A series of shots fired from an automatic firearm.
3.The explosion of a bomb or missile.
4.An act or instance of bursting.
- The bursts of the bombs could be heard miles away.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4197
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English bresten, bersten, from Old English berstan, from Proto-West Germanic *brestan, from Proto-Germanic *brestaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”), enlargement of *bʰreHi- (“to snip, split”).