1 C1 informal
To break or snap a piece away from something by force.
"He busted off a chunk of chocolate and handed it to his little sister."
separable
bust off
C1 informal separable transitive/intransitive
(Informal) To break or snap a piece off something; also (slang) to leave quickly.
In plain English
To break a piece off something, or to leave a place suddenly.
What does "bust off" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic slang
(US slang) To leave a place suddenly or quickly.
"It was getting late so we decided to bust off before the traffic got bad."
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bust (break) something off (away from the main body).
Actually means
To break a piece off something, or to leave a place suddenly.
Usage tip
The physical sense (breaking a piece off) is the more literal use. The sense of leaving quickly ('bust off out of here') is American slang and very informal. Both senses are relatively low-frequency.
Words that pair with "bust off"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
piece handle chunk corner move place
How to conjugate "bust off"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
bust off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
busts off
he/she/it
Past simple
busted off
yesterday
Past participle
busted off
have + pp
-ing form
busting off
continuous
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