English

buster

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  1. (colloquial) Someone who or something that bursts, breaks, or destroys a specified thing.
  2. (slang) Forming compounds denoting a team, weapon, or device specialized in the destruction of the first element.
  3. (US, colloquial, dated, slang) Someone who or something that 'breaks', tames, or overpowers a specified person or thing.
  4. (colloquial, slang) Someone who or something that 'breaks', tames, or overpowers a specified person or thing.
  5. (dated, slang) Someone or something remarkable, especially for being loud, large, etc.
  6. (colloquial, dated, slang) Someone or something remarkable, especially for being loud, large, etc.
  7. (obsolete, slang) A loaf of bread.
  8. (obsolete, slang) A drinking spree, a binge.
  9. (dated, slang) A gale, a strong wind; (especially Australia) a southerly buster.
  10. (Australia, New-Zealand) A heavy fall; (also performing arts) a staged fall, a pratfall.
  11. (US, regional) A molting crab.
  12. (slang) A cheat's die whose sides bear only certain combinations of spots, so that undesirable values can never be rolled.

Frequency

C1
Etymology

Originally a dialectal variant of burster; later influenced by bust + -er. The combining form of the term has appeared from the early 20th century but been especially prolific during three periods: in the 1930s, owing to the success of the radio series Gang Busters; in the 1940s, owing to its appearance as military slang; and in the 1980s, owing to the success of the movie Ghostbusters.

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