1. Slang. a. To smash or break, especially forcefully: "Mr. Luger worked it with a rake, busting up the big clods, making a flat brown table" (Garrison Keillor). b. To render inoperable or unusable: busted the vending machine by putting in foreign coins.

2. To cause to come to an end; break up: an attempt to bust the union.

3. To break or tame (a horse).

4. To cause to become bankrupt or short of money: "Too often, the promise of a high-tech design leads to a weapon that busts the budget" (Business Week).

5. Slang. To reduce in rank. See synonyms at demote.

6. To hit; punch.

7. Slang. a. To place under arrest. b. To make a raid on.

1. Slang. a. To undergo breakage; become broken. b. To burst; break: "Several companies have threatened to bust out of their high-wage contracts by the dubious technique of declaring bankruptcy" (Washington Post).

2. To become bankrupt or short of money.

3. Games. To lose at blackjack by exceeding a score of 21.

1. A failure; a flop: "The home-style bean curd is a bust, oily and rubbery" (Mark and Gail Barnett).

2. A state of bankruptcy.

3. A time or period of widespread financial depression: "Bankers consider the region's diversified economy to be good protection against a possible real estate bust" (American Banker).

4. A punch; a blow.

5. A spree: a fraternity beer bust.

6. Slang. a. An arrest. b. A raid.