burst
Pronunciation: (bûrst), [key] — v., n. burst burst•ed, burst•ing,
—v.i. - to break, break open, or fly apart with sudden violence: The bitter cold caused the pipes to burst.
- to issue forth suddenly and forcibly, as from confinement or through an obstacle: Oil burst to the surface. He burst through the doorway.
- to give sudden expression to or as if to emotion: to burst into applause; to burst into tears.
- to be extremely full, as if ready to break open: The house was bursting with people.
- to appear suddenly; become visible, audible, evident, etc., all at once: The sun burst through the clouds.
—v.t. - to cause to break or break open suddenly and violently: He burst the balloon.
- to cause or suffer the rupture of: to burst a blood vessel.
- to separate (the parts of a multipart stationery form consisting of interleaved paper and carbon paper).
- to be filled to or beyond normal capacity: This room will be bursting at the seams when all the guests arrive.
—n. - an act or instance of bursting.
- a sudden, intense display, as of activity, energy, or effort: The car passed us with a burst of speed.
- a sudden expression or manifestation, as of emotion: a burst of affection.
- a sudden and violent issuing forth: a burst of steam from the pipe.
- an air burst.
- the explosion of a projectile, esp. in a specified place:an air burst.
- a rapid sequence of shots fired by one pull on the trigger of an automatic weapon:A burst from the machine gun shattered all the windows.
- the result of bursting; breach; gap: a burst in the dike.
- a sudden appearance or opening to view.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.