busted

Busted is the past tense and past participle of the verb bust, meaning to break, smash, or separate abruptly. As an adjective, it describes something that is broken or out of order, as in a busted pipe. In informal use, busted also denotes that someone has been caught or arrested, as in “the police busted the drug ring.” The phrase is common in everyday speech and journalism.

In culture, Busted is the name of a British pop-rock band formed in London in 2000. The group achieved mainstream success in the early 2000s with multiple hit singles and two studio albums before breaking up in 2005; they reformed in the following years with a revised lineup and have continued to release music and tour.

The term appears in various idioms and expressions, such as “busted” used to declare a failed plan or broken object. It can appear in headlines or storytelling to convey immediacy or colloquial tone. The word has a broad range of informal uses in English, reflecting its flexible sense of damage, failure, or capture.