"bust on" meaning in English

See bust on in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-bust on.ogg Forms: busts on [present, singular, third-person], busting on [participle, present], busted on [participle, past], busted on [past], bust on [colloquial, participle, past], bust on [colloquial, past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*|past2=~|past2_qual=colloquial}} bust on (third-person singular simple present busts on, present participle busting on, simple past and past participle busted on or (colloquial) bust on)
  1. (US, idiomatic) To make a joke concerning; to ridicule or make fun of. Tags: US, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-bust_on-en-verb-evhVDXY1 Categories (other): American English
  2. (US, slang, African-American Vernacular) To hit or attack (someone); to insult (someone); to snitch on (someone). Tags: US, slang Related terms: bust someone's chops
    Sense id: en-bust_on-en-verb-p4qRgfxu Categories (other): African-American Vernacular English, American English, English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "on", Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 28 72 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "on": 25 75 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 19 81 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 16 84

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "busts on",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "busting on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "busted on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "busted on",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bust on",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bust on",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "~",
        "past2_qual": "colloquial"
      },
      "expansion": "bust on (third-person singular simple present busts on, present participle busting on, simple past and past participle busted on or (colloquial) bust on)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1989 April 9, “Campus Life: Rutgers Anthropologist Examines Sex Life On the Raritan”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "Mr. Moffatt explained different signals that students use to express friendship, like \"busting\" on one another. To \"bust on\" someone is \"to deflate their pretensions by means of aggressive verbal mockery.\" Mr. Moffatt explained that students only \"bust on\" their friends.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1997 March 24, Selena Roberts, “Ethnic Insult From Calipari Results in Apology by Nets”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "Three days after Nets Coach John Calipari called a reporter a \"Mexican idiot,\" the team publicly apologized today. . . . \"The way I understand it, what Cal was trying to do was bust on Garcia,\" Fenech said. \"Once he saw Garcia's reaction, he realized he didn't think he was kidding.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 August 19, Nick Miroff, “Kilt Shop Reveals A Loyal Clientele Itching to Be Free”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "His wife bought him his first Utilikilt four years ago, but it took him six months to get up the courage to wear it outside. He finally decided to debut it at a local beer festival. \"A lot of guys were busting on me,\" he recalled. But others wanted their picture taken with him, asking where they could get their own kilts.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017 August 22, Christie D'Zurilla, “Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen get shady during the eclipse”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen took time out from shooting the 2018 movie Book Club on Monday to take in the eclipse, goofy glasses and all. While Bergen was rocking Instagram, however, Fonda actually posted less-than-perfect pics on Twitter that busted on the former \"Murphy Brown\" star. \"Watching eclipse on set of BOOK CLUB,\" the Grace and Frankie star wrote. \"Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and I are rapt. Candice Bergen could care less#SolarEclipse2017.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make a joke concerning; to ridicule or make fun of."
      ],
      "id": "en-bust_on-en-verb-evhVDXY1",
      "links": [
        [
          "joke",
          "joke"
        ],
        [
          "ridicule",
          "ridicule"
        ],
        [
          "make fun of",
          "make fun of"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, idiomatic) To make a joke concerning; to ridicule or make fun of."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "African-American Vernacular English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "28 72",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 75",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"on\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "19 81",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 84",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To hit or attack (someone); to insult (someone); to snitch on (someone)."
      ],
      "id": "en-bust_on-en-verb-p4qRgfxu",
      "links": [
        [
          "snitch",
          "snitch"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "African-American Vernacular",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, slang, African-American Vernacular) To hit or attack (someone); to insult (someone); to snitch on (someone)."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 100",
          "word": "bust someone's chops"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bust on.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-bust_on.ogg/En-au-bust_on.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-bust_on.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bust on"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"on\"",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "busts on",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "busting on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "busted on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "busted on",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bust on",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bust on",
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "~",
        "past2_qual": "colloquial"
      },
      "expansion": "bust on (third-person singular simple present busts on, present participle busting on, simple past and past participle busted on or (colloquial) bust on)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "bust someone's chops"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1989 April 9, “Campus Life: Rutgers Anthropologist Examines Sex Life On the Raritan”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "Mr. Moffatt explained different signals that students use to express friendship, like \"busting\" on one another. To \"bust on\" someone is \"to deflate their pretensions by means of aggressive verbal mockery.\" Mr. Moffatt explained that students only \"bust on\" their friends.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1997 March 24, Selena Roberts, “Ethnic Insult From Calipari Results in Apology by Nets”, in New York Times, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "Three days after Nets Coach John Calipari called a reporter a \"Mexican idiot,\" the team publicly apologized today. . . . \"The way I understand it, what Cal was trying to do was bust on Garcia,\" Fenech said. \"Once he saw Garcia's reaction, he realized he didn't think he was kidding.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 August 19, Nick Miroff, “Kilt Shop Reveals A Loyal Clientele Itching to Be Free”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "His wife bought him his first Utilikilt four years ago, but it took him six months to get up the courage to wear it outside. He finally decided to debut it at a local beer festival. \"A lot of guys were busting on me,\" he recalled. But others wanted their picture taken with him, asking where they could get their own kilts.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017 August 22, Christie D'Zurilla, “Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen get shady during the eclipse”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2018-02-16:",
          "text": "Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda and Mary Steenburgen took time out from shooting the 2018 movie Book Club on Monday to take in the eclipse, goofy glasses and all. While Bergen was rocking Instagram, however, Fonda actually posted less-than-perfect pics on Twitter that busted on the former \"Murphy Brown\" star. \"Watching eclipse on set of BOOK CLUB,\" the Grace and Frankie star wrote. \"Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and I are rapt. Candice Bergen could care less#SolarEclipse2017.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make a joke concerning; to ridicule or make fun of."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "joke",
          "joke"
        ],
        [
          "ridicule",
          "ridicule"
        ],
        [
          "make fun of",
          "make fun of"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, idiomatic) To make a joke concerning; to ridicule or make fun of."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "African-American Vernacular English",
        "American English",
        "English slang"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To hit or attack (someone); to insult (someone); to snitch on (someone)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "snitch",
          "snitch"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "African-American Vernacular",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, slang, African-American Vernacular) To hit or attack (someone); to insult (someone); to snitch on (someone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bust on.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3c/En-au-bust_on.ogg/En-au-bust_on.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/En-au-bust_on.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bust on"
}

Download raw JSONL data for bust on meaning in English (4.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-02 using wiktextract (ca09fec and c40eb85). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.