break
/ˈbɹeɪk/
verbnoun
Core
1.v.terminate
“She interrupted her pregnancy”
2.v.become separated into pieces or fragments
“The figurine broke”
3.v.render inoperable or ineffective
“You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”
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break and bust share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. break means “terminate”. bust means “ruin completely”. break is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/ˈbɹeɪk/
1.v.terminate
“She interrupted her pregnancy”
2.v.become separated into pieces or fragments
“The figurine broke”
3.v.render inoperable or ineffective
“You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!”
/ˈbʌst/
1.v.ruin completely
“He busted my radio!”
2.v.search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on
“The police raided the crack house”
3.v.separate or cause to separate abruptly
“The rope snapped”
| break | bust | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹeɪk/ | /ˈbʌst/ |
| Said | brayk | buhst |
| Syllables | 1 | 1 |
| Letters | 5 | 4 |
| Parts of speech | verb, noun | verb, noun, adjective |
| Senses | 75 | 10 |
| How common | Core | Common |
| Synonyms | interrupt | break |
Full entry for break · Full entry for bust · More comparisons