v.
(past and past part. burst)
- break or cause to break suddenly and violently apart.
- be very full:
the wardrobe was bursting with clothes.
▸
(be bursting with)
feel (an irrepressible emotion or impulse).
- move or be opened suddenly and forcibly.
▸suddenly begin doing or producing something:
an aircraft crashed and burst into flames.
- separate (stationery) into single sheets.
n.
- an instance or the result of bursting.
- a sudden brief outbreak of something violent or noisy.
- a period of continuous effort.
Phrase
- burst someone's bubble
shatter someone's illusions.
Etymology
OE berstan, of Gmc origin.