burst

Etymology

From Middle English bresten, bersten, from Old English berstan, from Proto-Germanic *brestaną (compare West Frisian boarste, Dutch barsten, Swedish brista), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”) (compare Irish bris (“to break”)), enlargement of *bʰreHi- (“to snip, split”). More at brine. Also cognate to debris.

verb

1. (intransitive) To break from internal pressure.
   I blew the balloon up too much, and it burst.
2. (transitive) To cause to break from internal pressure.
   I burst the balloon when I blew it up too much.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To cause to break by any means.
4. (transitive) To separate (printer paper) at perforation lines.
   I printed the report on form-feed paper, then burst the sheets.
5. (intransitive) 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. (intransitive) 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”. […]’. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess
7. (transitive) 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. (transitive) 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. 2001, Jeanette Windle, Cave of the Inca Re, page 115

noun

1. An act or instance of bursting.
   The bursts of the bombs could be heard miles away.
2. A sudden, often intense, expression, manifestation or display.
   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. 1961, Kurt Vonnegut, Harrison Bergeron, page 1
3. A series of shots fired from an automatic firearm.
4. (military) The explosion of a bomb or missile.
   a ground burst; a surface burst
5. (archaic) A drinking spree.