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Webster 1913 Edition

Burst

Burst

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Burst
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Bursting
. The past participle bursten is obsolete.]
[OE.
bersten
,
bresten
, AS.
berstan
(pers. sing.
berste
, imp. sing.
bærst
, imp. pl.
burston
, p. p.
borsten
); akin to D.
bersten
, G.
bersten
, OHG.
brestan
, OS.
brestan
, Icel.
bresta
, Sw.
brista
, Dan.
briste
. Cf.
Brast
,
Break
.]
1.
To fly apart or in pieces; of break open; to yield to force or pressure, especially to a sudden and violent exertion of force, or to pressure from within; to explode;
as, the boiler had
burst
; the buds will
burst
in spring
.
From the egg that soon
Bursting
with kindly rupture, forth disclosed
Their callow young.
Milton.
Often used figuratively, as of the heart, in reference to a surcharge of passion, grief, desire, etc.
No, no, my heart will
burst
, an if I speak:
And I will speak, that so my heart may
burst
.
Shakespeare
2.
To exert force or pressure by which something is made suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; – usually with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out, away, into, upon, through, etc.
Tears, such as angels weep,
burst
forth.
Milton.
And now you
burst
(ah cruel!) from my arms.
Pope.
A resolved villain
Whose bowels suddenly
burst
out.
Shakespeare
We were the first that ever
burst

Into that silent sea.
Coleridge.
To
burst
upon him like an earthquake.
Goldsmith.

Burst

(bûrst)
,
Verb.
T.
1.
To break or rend by violence, as by an overcharge or by strain or pressure, esp. from within; to force open suddenly;
as, to
burst
a cannon; to
burst
a blood vessel; to
burst
open the doors
.
My breast I’ll
burst
with straining of my courage.
Shakespeare
2.
To break.
[Obs.]
You will not pay for the glasses you have
burst
?
Shakespeare
He
burst
his lance against the sand below.
Fairfax (Tasso).
3.
To produce as an effect of bursting;
as, to
burst
a hole through the wall
.
Bursting charge
.
See under
Charge
.

Burst

,
Noun.
1.
A sudden breaking forth; a violent rending; an explosion;
as, a
burst
of thunder; a
burst
of applause; a
burst
of passion; a
burst
of inspiration
.
Bursts
of fox-hunting melody.
W. Irving.
2.
Any brief, violent exertion or effort; a spurt;
as, a
burst
of speed
.
3.
A sudden opening, as of landscape; a stretch; an expanse.
[R.]
“A fine burst of country.”
Jane Austen.
4.
A rupture or hernia; a breach.

Webster 1828 Edition

Burst

BURST

,
Verb.
I.
pret. and pp. burst. The old participle bursten is nearly obsolete.
1.
To fly or break open with force, or with sudden violence; to suffer a violent disruption. The peculiar force of this word is, in expressing a sudden rupture, with violence, or expansion, or both. Hence it is generally used to signify the sudden rupture of a thing by internal force,and a liberation from confinement; as, to burst from a prison; the heart bursts with grief.
2.
To break away; to spring from; as, to burst from the arms.
3.
To come or fall upon suddenly or with violence; to rush upon unexpectedly; as, a sound bursts upon our ears.
4.
To issue suddenly, or to come from a hidden or retired place into more open view; as, a river bursts from a valley; a spring bursts from the earth.
5. To break forth into action suddenly; as, to burst into tears.
6.
To break or rush in with violence; as, to burst into a house or a room.
It is often followed by an intensive particle; as, out, forth, away, from, or asunder.

BURST

,
Verb.
T.
To break or rend by force or violence; to open suddenly; as, to burst a chain or a door; to burst a cannon.

BURST

,
Noun.
A sudden disruption; a violent rending; more appropriately, a sudden explosion or shooting forth; as a burst of thunder; a burst of applause, a burst of passion.
1.
A rupture, a hernia, or the unnatural protrusion of the contents of the abdomen.

BURST

, or BURST'EN,
pp.
or a. Affected with a rupture or hernia.

BURST

,
pp.
Opened or rent asunder by violence.

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