burst 1 of 2

1
as in to explode
to break open or into pieces usually because of internal pressure the turnover's crust burst when the filling expanded

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2
as in to shatter
to cause to break open or into pieces by or as if by an explosive finally burst the piñata open with one mighty swing of the bat

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3
as in to bulge
to be copiously supplied a young singer/dancer who seems to be bursting with energy and talent

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burst

2 of 2

noun

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burst
Verb
An affectionate little cat with a heart bursting with love for humans is looking for a home at a Texas shelter. Tj MacIas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2025 By the end of the year, the cold fusion bubble had burst, the technology was discredited, and the concept relegated to bad spy fiction and conspiracy theories. New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
Lewis advised undoing the cycle by practicing short bursts of uninterrupted concentration. Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025 So is the burst fully back for Pacheco after a healthy offseason? Jesse Newell, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for burst
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burst
Verb
  • Microwave ovens, which came along much later, enjoyed more widespread ownership and usage, both above 90%, in spite of urban legends about how microwaves will explode your pets and lower sperm counts.
    Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Previous estimates have suggested that the largest possible black holes would take longer than the hypothesized lifetime of the universe to explode.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • What would shatter any other nation has become our daily broadcast.
    John Feinblatt, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
  • These hopes are shattered when a brutish stranger appears on the doorstep to take his family back.
    Leo Barraclough, Variety, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • De Meo has been tasked with engineering a speedy turnaround for Kering, which has been dragged down by steep declines at its star brand Gucci and a bulging debt load.
    Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2025
  • To be a real man, according to this content, young adolescent boys are expected to be tall and broad-shouldered with bulging biceps, pronounced trapezius muscles, and washboard abs.
    Ashleigh N. DeLuca, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The glass-half-full crowd would view such a flurry of transactions as evidence that five teams wanted Ureña enough to sign him.
    Mike Digiovanna, Oc Register, 7 Sep. 2025
  • In part of a flurry of motions from both sides in the past week, Stines is asking for a judge to release him on bail.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The more massive stars can produce heavier elements such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, all the way up to iron, in a sequence of fusion reactions that end in a supernova explosion.
    Luke Keller, Space.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • But two years ago, as the latest wave of artificial intelligence began reshaping education, Leskovec told Fortune he was rocked by the explosion of his field into the mainstream.
    Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Around the time of this flip, solar activity gradually ramps up, causing more solar eruptions like solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
    Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The tour also visits Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar’s only inhabited island, and the lava fields created by the 1973 volcanic eruption.
    Mia Taylor, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • One Russian missile landed in a forest but didn't detonate.
    Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Israel’s concentration on destroying Gaza City’s infrastructure has utilized a variety of means, including heavy bombs and, recently, old armored vehicles laden with a large amount of explosives and detonated via remote control.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Shoplifting became a political lighting rod, and videos of thieves smashing store windows and grabbing merchandise rocketed across the news and social media as a symbol of a breakdown across cities.
    Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The forward smashed a strike across the goalkeeper and into the top corner, before wheeling away in emotional celebration.
    Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Burst.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burst. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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