as in broken
forcibly separated into many pieces
a busted headlight
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
also bust
1
as in demoted
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the commander threatened to bust her for failing to salute
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2
as in ruined
to cause to lose one's fortune and become unable to pay one's debts
gambling is a dangerous habit that has busted many unfortunate souls
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3
as in disrupted
to cause to separate into pieces usually suddenly or forcibly
the butterfingered husband had busted more plates than he cared to remember
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4
as in knocked
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
busted the storekeeper on the nose and was promptly arrested for it
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5
as in arrested
slang
to take or keep under one's control by authority of law
the cops busted the revelers for drinking in public
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6
as in killed
to use up all the physical energy of
I had to bust my butt in order to get the project done on time
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of busted
Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 9 Jan. 2026
Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.
—Dallas Morning News, 8 Jan. 2026
Crews spotted busted doors, hallways with no lights on, and puddles of water on the floor.
—Shardaa Gray, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025
The final two sacks unaccounted for came on busted plays.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 27 Nov. 2025
The difference is Dart found wide open TE for easy TD on busted coverage.
—Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 19 Oct. 2025
After a holding penalty pushed the Steelers back to their own 32, Rodgers took advantage of busted coverage and threw to Freiermuth in a soft spot in the zone.
—The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
During his time away, Mysterio also had surgery to repair a busted eardrum.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
The pair’s fight is fueled by the mundane (a busted dinner party) and the profound (Mark’s addiction, Dawn’s codependence, the constant pressure of professional fighting).
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
American-Statesman Staff, Austin American Statesman, 10 Jan. 2026
Two women from California are charged with drug trafficking after being busted with kilos of cocaine at Chicago O'Hare International Airport.
—Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
Sean Abt, 24, was busted Tuesday and charged with assault two days after police released images of the suspect and asked the public’s help in tracking him down.
—Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 7 Jan. 2026
Now the Securitrons are busted, the last remaining patron of the Gomorrah is a deathclaw, and robotized Robert House is nowhere to be seen.
—Jack King, Vulture, 7 Jan. 2026
When her radical mother is busted in a bank heist gone awry, Suzanna Klein is forced to spend her wonder years shuttling between prison visits.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Jan. 2026
Last year, two major cockfighting rings were busted in North Texas, including one near Fort Worth and the other North of Dallas.
—Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 5 Jan. 2026
Haywood Talcove, a Danvers native who heads LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ government division, has accompanied the Secret Service on raids that have busted schemes taking advantage of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP).
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
Basketball aside, the style game was a competition in itself — and the analyst once busted the longtime Laker on his.
—Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.
—Verb
Many probably had their brackets busted by Texas A&M's loss to Miami, then Miami's (bigger) upset of Ohio State.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for busted
Adjective
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Dispose of broken or outdated items.—
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The 41-year-old suffered a broken pelvis and sustained fractures to both femurs and three ribs, as well as a compound fracture to his right shin.—
Verb
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In a post on X, Hegseth announced that Kelly was being demoted for a video from November.—
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As an indication of how badly things went, consider that during the season the Dolphins fired their general manager (Chris Grier) and demoted their quarterback (Tua Tagovailoa).—
Verb
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McKenzie and Sebastian's decision to embrace the unexpected made their wedding even better when an opposite reaction to the rain could have ruined the whole celebration.—
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But becoming the operator ruined the magic.—
Verb
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The Lakers disrupted alley-oop attempts to Castle and Luke Kornet in the opening minutes.—
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During a three-game losing streak that began with a loss to Arkansas State, Arkansas has been turnover prone and seen its dribble-drive offense disrupted.—
Verb
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White egrets stood in the shallows, a woodpecker knocked somewhere nearby, and pairs of green parrots flew upstream, beating their wings in time.—
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He was eventually knocked free of the vehicle, and suffered significant lacerations that required 33 stitches, the official said.—
Verb
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Adolescence follows a 13-year-old boy, Jamie Miller (Cooper), who is accused and arrested for murdering a teenage girl in his class.—
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Local officials have called for immigration authorities to leave the city and for the officer behind the shooting to be arrested.—
Verb
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Investigators also found eight 9 mm casings fired from a Glock pistol at the scene where Holmes was killed, according to the affidavit.—
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Several districts in Kyiv were hit in the attack and an emergency medical aid worker was among those killed, according to Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko.—
Adjective
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Yamamoto earned his third victory, a 5-4 triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays that ended in the 11th inning on the shattered bat of Alejandro Kirk, who tapped a splitter to Mookie Betts at shortstop for a season-ending double play.—
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The second suspect, a 39-year-old man also from Aubervilliers, was already known to police for thefts; his DNA was discovered on the shattered display case and other items left behind.—
Cite this Entry
“Busted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/busted. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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