bust

/ˈbʌst/

//ˈbʌst// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bust" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bust” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,662. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,662
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To break.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bust · bust · English

bust · rank #6,662 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,662
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH bugs

Nearest frequency peer: bugs (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “bust”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “bust” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bust vs but
75% similar
bust vs buy
50% similar
bust vs busy
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bust
PropertyValue
Headwordbust
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈbʌst/
Letters4
Frequency rank#6,662
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bust” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).bustlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “bugs” (#6,661), “clearing” (#6,663), “brooks” (#6,660). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around bust (IPA /ˈbʌst/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,662 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 17 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for bust, with forms such as "bbust", "bsut", and "busst". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "but", "buy", "busy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost. The correct English form is bust, spelled B-U-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To break.
  2. 2
    To arrest (someone or a group of people) for a crime.
  3. 3
    To catch (someone) in the act of doing something wrong, socially and morally inappropriate, or illegal, especially when being done in a sneaky or secretive state.
  4. 4
    To debunk, dispel (a belief).
  5. 5
    An emphatic synonym of do or get.
  6. 6
    To reduce in rank.
  7. 7
    To undo a trade, generally an error trade, that has already been executed.
  8. 8
    To lose all of one's chips.
  9. 9
    To exceed a score of 21.
  10. 10
    To break in (an animal).
  11. 11
    To break in (a woman or girl), to deflower
  12. 12
    To ejaculate; to eject semen or to squirt.
  13. 13
    For a headline to exceed the amount of space reserved for it.
  14. 14
    To refute an established opening.
  15. 15
    To shoot (a gun).
  16. 16
    To attack, hit or insult (someone).
  17. 17
    To do or perform; to move quickly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bust appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I busted my cooker while trying to fix it.
  2. Aaron got busted by the feds for leaking confidential government documents on Reddit.

Etymology

From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost.

Synonyms

nick

This word in other languages

reventar(Español)éclater(Français)bersten(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbust
  • bsut
  • busst
  • bustt
  • buts
  • ubst

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bust - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

bbust1bsut2busst1bustt1buts2ubst2
Edit distance from "bust"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bust"?
"bust" is spelled B-U-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbʌst/.
What does "bust" mean?
As a verb, "bust" means: To break.
What words are commonly confused with "bust"?
"bust" is commonly confused with "but", "buy", "busy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bust"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bust" is /ˈbʌst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bust"?
From Middle English busten, a variant of bursten, bresten (“to burst”). Compare Low German basten, a variant of barsten (“to burst”). Cognate with burst and bost. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bust", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bugs#6,661bolt#6,659cope#6,668eBay#6,678

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

audit6 variantstent6 variantshart6 variantsspam6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "bust". Here's where to go from here.

  • "bust" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "but". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,662 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list