The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Burst \Burst\ (b[^u]rst), v. t.
   1. To break or rend by violence, as by an overcharge or by
      strain or pressure, esp. from within; to force open
      suddenly; as, to burst a cannon; to burst a blood vessel;
      to burst open the doors.
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            My breast I'll burst with straining of my courage.
                                                  --Shak.
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   2. To break. [Obs.]
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            You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?
                                                  --Shak.
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            He burst his lance against the sand below. --Fairfax
                                                  (Tasso).
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   3. To produce as an effect of bursting; as, to burst a hole
      through the wall.
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   Bursting charge. See under Charge.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Burst \Burst\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burst; p. pr. & vb. n.
   Bursting. The past participle bursten is obsolete.] [OE.
   bersten, bresten, AS. berstan (pers. sing. berste, imp. sing.
   b[ae]rst, imp. pl. burston, p. p. borsten); akin to D.
   bersten, G. bersten, OHG. brestan, OS. brestan, Icel. bresta,
   Sw. brista, Dan. briste. Cf. Brast, Break.]
   1. To fly apart or in pieces; of break open; to yield to
      force or pressure, especially to a sudden and violent
      exertion of force, or to pressure from within; to explode;
      as, the boiler had burst; the buds will burst in spring.
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            From the egg that soon
            Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed
            Their callow young.                   --Milton.
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   Note: Often used figuratively, as of the heart, in reference
         to a surcharge of passion, grief, desire, etc.
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               No, no, my heart will burst, an if I speak:
               And I will speak, that so my heart may burst.
                                                  --Shak.
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   2. To exert force or pressure by which something is made
      suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or
      limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or
      unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; -- usually
      with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out,
      away, into, upon, through, etc.
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            Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth. --Milton.
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            And now you burst (ah cruel!) from my arms. --Pope.
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            A resolved villain
            Whose bowels suddenly burst out.      --Shak.
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            We were the first that ever burst
            Into that silent sea.                 --Coleridge.
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            To burst upon him like an earthquake. --Goldsmith.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Burst \Burst\, n.
   1. A sudden breaking forth; a violent rending; an explosion;
      as, a burst of thunder; a burst of applause; a burst of
      passion; a burst of inspiration.
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            Bursts of fox-hunting melody.         --W. Irving.
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   2. Any brief, violent exertion or effort; a spurt; as, a
      burst of speed.
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   3. A sudden opening, as of landscape; a stretch; an expanse.
      [R.] "A fine burst of country." --Jane Austen.
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   4. A rupture or hernia; a breach.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

burst
    n 1: the act of exploding or bursting; "the explosion of the
         firecrackers awoke the children"; "the burst of an atom
         bomb creates enormous radiation aloft" [syn: explosion,
         burst]
    2: rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms; "our fusillade from
       the left flank caught them by surprise" [syn: fusillade,
       salvo, volley, burst]
    3: a sudden flurry of activity (often for no obvious reason); "a
       burst of applause"; "a fit of housecleaning" [syn: burst,
       fit]
    4: a sudden intense happening; "an outburst of heavy rain"; "a
       burst of lightning" [syn: outburst, burst, flare-up]
    v 1: come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal
         pressure; "The bubble burst" [syn: burst, split, break
         open]
    2: force out or release suddenly and often violently something
       pent up; "break into tears"; "erupt in anger" [syn: break,
       burst, erupt]
    3: burst outward, usually with noise; "The champagne bottle
       exploded" [syn: explode, burst] [ant: go off,
       implode]
    4: move suddenly, energetically, or violently; "He burst out of
       the house into the cool night"
    5: be in a state of movement or action; "The room abounded with
       screaming children"; "The garden bristled with toddlers"
       [syn: abound, burst, bristle]
    6: emerge suddenly; "The sun burst into view"
    7: cause to burst; "The ice broke the pipe" [syn: collapse,
       burst]
    8: break open or apart suddenly and forcefully; "The dam burst"
       [syn: burst, bust]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

278 Moby Thesaurus words for "burst":
   access, ado, aggravated, agitation, antiaircraft barrage, backfire,
   bang, bark, barrage, belch, blast, blaze, blaze of temper,
   blow out, blow up, blowout, blowup, bombardment, boom, bother,
   botheration, box barrage, breach, break, break open, break up,
   breakage, broadside, broken, bump, burned, burst, burst of speed,
   bury, bust, busted, bustle, cache, cannonade, cannonry, canter,
   cascade, check, checked, chip, chipped, clap, clash, cleft, coffin,
   come apart, come unstuck, commotion, conceal, convulsion, cover,
   crack, cracked, crash, crazed, creeping barrage, crump, cut,
   cyclone, damaged, dash, dead run, debouchment, deflagration,
   deteriorated, detonate, detonation, discharge, disintegrate,
   dissiliency, dive, dogtrot, drive, drumfire, embittered,
   emergency barrage, enfilade, ensconce, entomb, eructation,
   eruption, exacerbated, exfoliate, explode, explosion,
   fall to pieces, feery-fary, ferment, fidgetiness, fire, fissure,
   fit, flank speed, flap, flare, flare up, flare-up, flash,
   flash fire, flat-out speed, flop, flurry, fluster, flutter,
   flutteriness, forced draft, fracture, fragment, fulguration,
   full gallop, fulminate, fulmination, fusillade, fuss, fussiness,
   gale, gallop, gap, give away, give way, go off, gunshot, gush,
   gust, hand gallop, harmed, headlong rush, heavy right foot, hide,
   high lope, high words, hubbub, hullabaloo, hurricane, hurt,
   impaired, imperfect, in bits, in pieces, in shards, inhume,
   injured, inter, inurn, irritated, irruption, jet, jog trot, knock,
   lacerated, lay away, lay to rest, let off, lope, lunge, maelstrom,
   mangled, maximum speed, mortar barrage, mushroom, mutilated,
   normal barrage, occult, open throttle, outbreak, outburst,
   paroxysm, pash, pitch, plant, plunge, pop, pother, puncture,
   put away, race, rap, rapids, rent, report, restlessness, rift, rip,
   rive, run, rupture, ruptured, rush, sally, salvo, scalded, scale,
   scamper, scene, scorched, scramble, screen, scud, scurry, scuttle,
   secrete, seizure, sepulcher, sepulture, set off, shatter,
   shattered, shiver, shoot, shot, shower, slam, slap, slash, slashed,
   slat, slice, slit, smack, smash, smashed, smatter, snap, spasm,
   spate, spew, splat, splinter, split, spray, spring a leak, sprint,
   sprung, spurt, standing barrage, start, stash, stew, stir, storm,
   swap, sweat, swirl, tap, tear, tempest, the worse for, thwack,
   to-do, tomb, torn, tornado, torrent, touch off, trot, tumult,
   unquiet, upheaval, volcan, volley, vortex, weakened, whack, wham,
   whap, whirl, whirlwind, whomp, whop, wide-open speed, worse,
   worse off, worsened