bursting at the seams

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformal

   Completely full, with hardly any room left for more people or things.

   Grammar: Follows a form of be or a verb like look: the hall was bursting at the seams.

   Patterns

   • something is bursting at the seams
   • something is bursting at the seams with something

   By noon the little cafe was bursting at the seams with tourists.

   Our suitcase was bursting at the seams, so I had to sit on it to close it.

   The school is bursting at the seams because so many families have moved to the area.

2. 2phraseidiomfigurative

   Filled to the limit with a strong feeling or quality, such as pride or energy.

   Grammar: Often followed by with and the feeling: bursting at the seams with pride.

   Patterns

   • someone is bursting at the seams with something

   Her parents were bursting at the seams with pride at the graduation.

   The team was bursting at the seams with energy before the final.

Common combinations

bursting at the seams with

The garden was bursting at the seams with tomatoes.

seem to be bursting at the seams

The city seems to be bursting at the seams these days.

a school bursting at the seams

They built a new wing for a school bursting at the seams.

leave something bursting at the seams

The sale left the shop bursting at the seams.

Synonyms and how they differ

packed

Packed is a plain adjective that describes a crowded place, while bursting at the seams is more vivid and suggests the place can barely hold everything.

overflowing

Overflowing suggests contents are already spilling out, whereas bursting at the seams describes the moment just before that.

crammed

Crammed stresses that things were pushed in tightly, and it is less often used for feelings like pride.

jam-packed

Jam-packed is similarly informal but is rarely used of emotions, which bursting at the seams can describe.

Opposites

Word family

burst verb

to break open or suddenly give way under pressure

seam noun

the line where two pieces of cloth are sewn together

bursting adjective

very full or very eager

Commonly confused: bursting at the seams or coming apart at the seams?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “bursting at the seams”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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