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/bərst/ Listen

verb

Burst v. t. (past & past part. burst; pres. part. bursting; the past participle bursten is obsolete)

To break or rend by violence, as by an overcharge or by strain or pressure, esp. from within; to force open suddenly; as, to burst a cannon; to burst a blood vessel; to burst open the doors. "My breast I'll burst with straining of my courage."

To break. (Obs.) "You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?" "He burst his lance against the sand below."

To produce as an effect of bursting; as, to burst a hole through the wall.

Bursting charge. See under Charge.

Burst v. i. (past & past part. burst; pres. part. bursting; the past participle bursten is obsolete)

To fly apart or in pieces; of break open; to yield to force or pressure, especially to a sudden and violent exertion of force, or to pressure from within; to explode; as, the boiler had burst; the buds will burst in spring. "From the egg that soon Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed Their callow young." Note: Often used figuratively, as of the heart, in reference to a surcharge of passion, grief, desire, etc. "No, no, my heart will burst, an if I speak: And I will speak, that so my heart may burst."

To exert force or pressure by which something is made suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; usually with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out, away, into, upon, through, etc. "Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth." "And now you burst (ah cruel!) from my arms." "A resolved villain Whose bowels suddenly burst out." "We were the first that ever burst Into that silent sea." "To burst upon him like an earthquake."

noun

Burst n.

A sudden breaking forth; a violent rending; an explosion; as, a burst of thunder; a burst of applause; a burst of passion; a burst of inspiration. "Bursts of fox-hunting melody."

Any brief, violent exertion or effort; a spurt; as, a burst of speed.

A sudden opening, as of landscape; a stretch; an expanse. (R.) "A fine burst of country."

A rupture or hernia; a breach.

See images of 'Burst'

Etymology of 'Burst'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Burst" Quotes from Famous Books

... that the old school master made to Marget that time in "Beside the Bonny Briar Bush" when he came to tell her that she had a "laddie of parts"? And wasn't it still more beautiful when he came later, rugged old Scotchman that he was, to burst into tears of wild joy over the good news he brought her that her son had won first prize in ...

— Sermons on Biblical Characters • Clovis G. Chappell

... only the end of the handle. The people in the transport clapped their hands, and laughed at his ridiculous figure; and when some one threw a stone, which fell on the deck at his feet, and he quitted his hold of the scythe-spear, the crew of his own trireme also burst out laughing; they could not refrain when they beheld the weapon waving in the air, suspended from the transport. Now I do not deny that there may be something in such an art, as Nicias asserts, but I tell you my ...

— Laches • Plato

... the upshot, which was that Mr. Pittinger thought he might raise money to run the factory if Eddie would give him the control and drop out. Eddie concluded, with a burst of rapture: "I'm so tickled I wisht I could telegraft poor Uncle Loren that everything's ...

— In a Little Town • Rupert Hughes

... gloves in token of adieu, and retreated once more into the excited obscurity of the wings, where his manager was trembling like an aspen, in the midst of a perspiring company. The lights were turned down. The orchestra burst into a tuneful jig, and the lingering audience ...

— Flames • Robert Smythe Hichens

... been chewed and swallowed by the trench; and what is left of it has been invaded by the earth and the grass, and mingled with the fields in the fullness of time. At some places in the trench—there, where a sandbag has burst and left only a muddy cell—you may see again on the level of your eyes the stony ballast of the ex-road, cut to the quick, or even the roots of the bordering trees that have been cut down to embody in the trench wall. The latter is as slashed and uneven as if it were a wave of earth ...

— Under Fire - The Story of a Squad • Henri Barbusse

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