burst

verb

1. 1

   To break from internal pressure.

   I blew the balloon up too much, and it burst.

2. 2

   To cause to break from internal pressure.

   I burst the balloon when I blew it up too much.

3. 3

   obsoleteTo cause to break by any means.

   You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?

   He burst his lance against the sand below.

4. 4

   To separate (printer paper) at perforation lines.

   I printed the report on form-feed paper, then burst the sheets.

5. 5

   To enter or exit hurriedly and unexpectedly.

   1913, Mariano Azuela, The Underdogs, translated by E. MunguÍa, Jr. Like hungry dogs who have sniffed their meat, the mob bursts in, trampling down the women who sought to bar the entrance with their bodies.

6. 6

   To erupt; to change state suddenly as if bursting.

   The flowers burst into bloom on the first day of spring.

   ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.

7. 7

   To produce as an effect of bursting.

   to burst a hole through the wall

   1856, Eleanor Marx-Aveling (translator), Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter X He entered Maromme shouting for the people of the inn, burst open the door with a thrust of his shoulder, made for a sack of oats, emptied a bottle of sweet cider into the manger, and again mounted his nag, whose feet struck fire as it dashed along.

8. 8

   To interrupt suddenly in a violent or explosive manner; to shatter.

   The sharp report of a gun burst the silence, and a moment later the gate swung open.

9. 9

   Of neurons: to exhibit an activation pattern where periods of rapid action potential spiking are followed by quiescent periods much longer than typical interspike intervals.

noun

1. 1

   An act or instance of bursting.

   The bursts of the bombs could be heard miles away.

2. 2

   A sudden, often intense, expression, manifestation or display.

   I read it in two bursts.

   "It's my wedding-day," cried Biddy, in a burst of happiness, "and I am married to Joe!"

   […] and only at Barnet did Tappin give Empire of India a burst to bring us up to the 60 m.p.h. speed ceiling of the London area.

   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.

3. 3

   A series of shots fired from an automatic firearm.

4. 4

   The explosion of a bomb or missile.

   a ground burst; a surface burst

5. 5

   archaicA drinking spree.

Forms

plural

bursts

past tense

brast, bursted

past participle

brast, bursted, bursten

present participle

bursting

third person singular

bursts