Burst Meaning
/bɝst/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo break from internal pressure.
verbTo cause to break from internal pressure.
Sentence Examples
By September the burst in spending seemed to be tapering off.
As soon as he entered the classroom, our teacher burst into angry speech.
That balloon will burst if you blow it up any more.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The water pipe might ____ if the pressure gets too high.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The water pipe began to ____, causing a flood in the basement city.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English bresten, bersten, from Old English berstan, from Proto-West Germanic *brestan, from Proto-Germanic *brestaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to burst, break, crack, split, separate”), enlargement of *bʰreHi- (“to snip, split”). See also West Frisian boarste, Dutch barsten, Danish briste, Swedish brista; also Irish bris (“to break”)). More at brine. Also cognate to debris.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?"
— c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act INDUCTION, scene i]:
"He burst his lance against the sand below."
— 1600, [Torquato Tasso], “(please specify |book=1 to 20)”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC:
"‘[…] 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: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"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:
""It's my wedding-day," cried Biddy, in a burst of happiness, "and I am married to Joe!""
— 1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The water pipe might ____ if the pressure gets too high.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The water pipe began to ____, causing a flood in the basement city.