Meaning & use
burst
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To break open or apart suddenly, usually because the pressure inside has grown too strong to hold.
Grammar: The past tense and participle are both burst, not bursted: the pipe burst last night; the heat burst the pipe.
Patterns
- something bursts
- burst something
The balloon burst the moment it touched the thorn bush.
After three days of rain, the river burst its banks and flooded the road.
If you overfill the tire, it could burst on a hot day.
verbintransitive
To move, arrive or appear very suddenly and with force or energy, or to begin an action all at once.
Grammar: Usually followed by a preposition: burst into a room, burst into tears, burst out laughing.
Patterns
- burst into something
- burst out of something
- burst into tears/laughter/song
Maya burst into the kitchen, waving her exam results.
The whole class burst out laughing when the teacher's chair collapsed.
Sunlight burst through the clouds just as the ceremony began.
verbintransitiveinformal
To be so full of something, especially a feeling or a physical load, that it seems almost too much to contain.
Grammar: Almost always used in the -ing form with a preposition: bursting with pride, bursting at the seams.
Patterns
- be bursting with something
- be bursting to do something
Ben was bursting with news about his new job.
The suitcase was bursting at the seams after the shopping trip.
She was bursting to tell everyone the secret.
nouncountable
A short, sudden period of intense activity, sound or force, or the act of something breaking open.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a burst of applause. Plural: bursts.
Patterns
- a burst of something
A burst of applause greeted the singer.
The runner found a final burst of speed near the finish line.
A pipe burst in the basement caused hours of cleanup.
Word forms
| third person singular | bursts |
|---|---|
| past tense | burst |
| past participle | burst |
| -ing form | bursting |
Common combinations
- burst into tears
- She burst into tears when she saw the surprise party.
- burst open
- The door burst open and a gust of wind swept in.
- burst a pipe
- The freeze burst a pipe under the sink.
- burst out laughing
- We burst out laughing at his terrible joke.
- burst at the seams
- The stadium was bursting at the seams on match day.
- burst a blood vessel
- He nearly burst a blood vessel arguing about the bill.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rupture
- Rupture is more formal and technical, often used for pipes, organs or membranes, while burst suits everyday objects like balloons.
- explode
- Explode suggests a far louder and more violent blast, whereas burst can be a quiet split.
- erupt
- Erupt fits volcanoes and sudden outbreaks of anger or noise, but you would not say a tire erupted.
- split
- Split describes a break along a line and does not need the sudden pressure that burst implies.
Word family
Commonly confused: burst or bust?
burst vs bust
Bust is an informal word for break or ruin (the vacuum is bust), whereas burst means to break open from pressure.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
Burst has the same form in the past tense and past participle. Bursted is a common mistake, and bursten does not exist.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “burst”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.