| Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. 1995. |
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bust |
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| NOUN: | 1. Slang. A seizing and holding by law: apprehension, arrest, seizure. Slang : collar, pickup, pinch. See LAW. 2. One that fails completely: failure, fiasco, loser, washout. Informal : dud, flop, lemon. Slang : bomb. See THRIVE. 3. The condition of being financially insolvent: bankruptcy, failure, insolvency. See MONEY. 4. A quick, sharp blow, especially with the hand: box2, buffet, chop1, cuff, punch, slap, smack1, smacker, spank, swat, whack. Informal : clip1, spat. See ATTACK, STRIKE. | | VERB: | 1. Slang. To take into custody as a prisoner: apprehend, arrest, seize. Informal : nab, pick up. Slang : collar, pinch, run in. See LAW. 2. Slang. To make or become unusable or inoperative: break, fail, ruin. See HELP. 3. Slang. To come open or fly apart suddenly and violently, as from internal pressure: blow1 (out), burst, explode, pop1. See EXPLOSION. 4. To undergo sudden financial failure: break, collapse, crash, fail, go under. Informal : fold. Idioms: go belly up, go bust, go on the rocks, go to the wall. See MONEY. 5. Slang. To lower in rank or grade: break, bump, degrade, demote, downgrade, reduce. See RISE. 6. To make (an animal) docile: break, gentle, master, tame. See WILD. 7. To reduce to financial insolvency: bankrupt, break, impoverish, pauperize, ruin. Slang : clean out. See MONEY. 8. To hit with a quick, sharp blow of the hand: box2, buffet, cuff, punch, slap, smack1, spank, swat, whack. Informal : clip1, spat. See ATTACK, STRIKE.
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| Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition. Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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