buster

plural busters

1. colloquialSomeone who or something that bursts, breaks, or destroys a specified thing.

   Rothlin was described... by the papers as the buster of the bandit ring.

   2005, J. Madhavan, Sita & Forest Bandits, section 122

   1 more example

   Now death, I pray thee what is it, but a buster of bonds; a destruction of toyle?

   1614, S. Jerome, Moses his Sight of Canaan, section 147

2. slanggovernmentForming compounds denoting a team, weapon, or device specialized in the destruction of the first element.

   German ‘balloon busters’ attack the Dover barrage.

   1940 September 2, Life, 29/1

   3 more examples

   Our main purpose in further experimentation with nuclear bombs is not... to make city-busters more horrible.

   1958 February 10, Life, section 70

   B-2 bombers are the only plane capable of carrying the Massive Ordinance Penetrator, which experts have highlighted as the only type of bomb potentially capable of destroying Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility. Each B-2 bomber is able to carry two of these “bunker buster” bombs, which weigh an impressive 30,000 pounds each.

   2025 June 21, Thomas Bordeaux, Natasha Bertrand and Zachary Cohen, “US moves B-2 bombers as Trump weighs Iran options”, in CNN

   The bombs used in the strikes were GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrators, known as a “bunker busters,” two sources familiar with the operation said.

   2025 June 21, Kevin Liptak, “Strikes on Iranian nuclear sites thrust US into escalating Middle East conflict”, in CNN

3. Someone who or something that 'breaks', tames, or overpowers a specified person or thing.
   1. UScolloquialdatedslangA broncobuster.

      The buster must be careful to keep well away from sheds and timber.

      1891 July, Harper's Magazine, 208/2

      1 more example

      Some busters caught their horses for the first time over the head, and snubbed or choked them until they fell gasping.

      1964, John Hendrix, If I Can Do It Horseback: A Cow-Country Sketchbook, page 40

   2. colloquialslanggovernmentForming compounds denoting an agent or agency tasked with reducing or eliminating the first element.

      The professional fraud-busters [of the art world].

      1974 July 4, New Scientist, 65/2

      2 more examples

      Men nicknamed him the ‘Booze Buster’, and cartoonists loved to picture him, revolver in hand,... fighting the demon rum.

      1920, F. A. McKenzie, ‘Pussyfoot’ Johnson, v. 83

      New York City traffic agents have become Gridlock Busters and cigarette foes are smokebusters.

      1984 November 18, Times, N.Y, iv. 24/2

4. datedslangSomeone or something remarkable, especially for being loud, large, etc.

   What a buster of a lunch it turned out to be.

   2004 November 20, South Wales Echo, section 9

   1 more example

   ‘I had to clean this old roarer,’ continued the ‘editor’... as he wiped the barrel of his pistol. ‘She's a buster, I tell you.’

   1833 April, Parthenon, section 293

   1. colloquialdatedslangvariously expressing familiarity; admiration; or hostility; variously expressing familiarity; admiration; or hostilityA form of address, particularly of men: guy, dude, fella, mack, buddy, loser. (Originally as 'old buster'.)

      That's generous, old buster.

      1838 March 24, New Yorker, 4/1

      3 more examples

      An extremely wealthy old buster.

      1919, P.G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves, section 79

      Calvin: I'm going to watch TV all night. Mom: That's what you think, buster!

      1986 February 27, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic)

      ‘Careful, buster,’ she said. ‘I've got a knife in my hand.’

      2001, S. MacKay, Fall Guy, ix. 113

5. obsoleteslangA loaf of bread.

   Three penny busters, and a whole kit-full of winegar and mustard.

   1835 September 16, Morning Post, 4/2

   1 more example

   An 8oz. loaf of brown bread... goes by the name of ‘buster’, I suppose on account of the way they blow you out.

   1904 June 8, Journal of the Department of Labour, New Zealand, section 536

6. obsoleteslangA drinking spree, a binge.

   They were on a buster, and were taken up by the police.

   1848, John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms

   1 more example

   All off for a buster, armstrong, hollering down the street.

   1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 14: Oxen of the Sun]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 405

7. datedslangA gale, a strong wind; (especially Australia) a southerly buster.

   ‘This is a buster,’ i.e. a powerful or heavy wind.

   1848, John Russell Bartlett, Dictionary of Americanisms

   2 more examples

   The Buster and Brickfielder: austral red-dust blizzard and red-hot Simoom.

   1886, Frank Cowan, Australia, section 14

   When the barometer drops rapidly... watch out for a strong sou'wester. A buster can be on you in a flash.

   1991, J. Moore, By Way of Wind, section 121

8. AustraliaNew ZealandA heavy fall; (also performing arts) a staged fall, a pratfall.

   Dainty... came down ‘a buster’ at the last hurdle, and Scots Grey cantered in by himself.

   1874 April, Baily's Monthly Magazine, section 114

9. USregionalA molting crab.

   In that state he is called a ‘Buster’, bursting his shell.

   1855 October 18, Henry A. Wise, letter in J.P. Hambleton's Biographical Sketch of Henry A. Wise (1856), 448

   1 more example

   Restaurant August... serves contemporary French cuisine prepared with Louisiana ingredients like buster crabs, shrimp and oysters.

   2002 January 6, Times, N.Y, v. 4/6

10. slanggamblingA cheat's die whose sides bear only certain combinations of spots, so that undesirable values can never be rolled.

    Tops and Bottoms (also Tops, Busters, Ts, Mis-spots): These are the dice used by the professional cheats.

    1961, John Scarne, Complete Guide to Gambling, page 283

    1 more example

    To make six-eight, natural dice, or busters, he would take unspotted dice and then grind and color only the spots he wanted.

    1977, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, The Development of the Law of Gambling: 1776-1976, page 423

1. A surname.

1. A male given name.
2. A male nickname.
3. colloquialvariously expressing familiarity; admiration; or hostility; variously expressing familiarity; admiration; or hostilitySynonym of guy, term of address for a man or person.

   Set this straight, Buster. I'm not here to say "please." I'm here to tell you want to do. And if self-preservation is an instinct you possess, you better fuckin' do it and do it quick.

   1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction, spoken by The Wolf (Harvey Keitel)

   1 more example

   Beginning with a curt “Listen, Buster,” she proceeded to sketch out with admirable clearness the salient points in the situation as she envisaged it [...] “I thought she was splendidly firm.” “Yes, sir.” “It's the red hair that does it, I imagine.” “Yes, sir.” “If anyone had told me that I should live to hear Aubrey Upjohn addressed as ‘Buster’ ...”

   1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XIX, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC

   Synonyms: guy, term of address for a man or person