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Surge vs Burst - What's the difference?

surge | burst |

In intransitive terms the difference between surge and burst

is that surge is to rush, flood, or increase suddenly while burst is to enter or exit hurriedly and unexpectedly.

surge

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A sudden transient rush, flood or increase.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times citation
  • , passage=As President Obama turns his attention once again to filling out a cabinet and writing an Inaugural Address, this much is clear: he should not expect to bask in a surge of national unity, or to witness a crowd of millions overrun the Mall just to say they were there.}}
  • The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's forward/backward oscillation
  • He felt a surge of excitement.
  • (electricity) A sudden electrical spike or increase of voltage and current.
  • A power surge at that generator created a blackout across the whole district.
  • (nautical) The swell or heave of the sea. (FM 55-501).
  • * Bible, James i. 6
  • He that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.
  • * Dryden
  • He flies aloft, and, with impetuous roar, / Pursues the foaming surges to the shore.
  • (obsolete) A spring; a fountain.
  • * Ld. Berners
  • divers surges and springs of water
  • The tapered part of a windlass barrel or a capstan, upon which the cable surges, or slips.
  • Synonyms

    * inrush

    Derived terms

    * countersurge * surgeless

    Verb

    (surg)
  • (lb) To rush, flood, or increase suddenly.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-03, author=David S. Senchina, volume=101, issue=2, page=134
  • , magazine=(American Scientist) , title= Athletics and Herbal Supplements , passage=Athletes' use of herbal supplements has skyrocketed in the past two decades. At the top of the list of popular herbs are echinacea and ginseng, whereas garlic, St. John's wort, soybean, ephedra and others are also surging in popularity or have been historically prevalent.}}
  • To accelerate forwards, particularly suddenly.
  • :
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 2, work=BBC
  • , title= Wales 2-1 Montenegro , passage=Wales began the second half as they ended the first, closing down Montenegro quickly and the pressure told as Bale surged into the box and pulled the ball back for skipper Ramsey, arriving on cue, to double their lead.}}
  • To slack off a line.
  • References

    * * * FM 55-501

    Anagrams

    * * ----

    burst

    English

    (wikipedia burst)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An instance of, or the act of bursting .
  • The bursts of the bombs could be heard miles away.
  • A series of shots fired from an automatic firearm.
  • Derived terms

    * cloudburst

    Verb

  • To break from internal pressure.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=6 citation , passage=‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. […]’.}}
  • To cause to break from internal pressure.
  • (obsolete) To cause to break by any means.
  • * Shakespeare
  • You will not pay for the glasses you have burst ?
  • * Fairfax
  • He burst his lance against the sand below.
  • To separate formfeed at perforation lines.
  • To enter or exit hurriedly and unexpectedly.
  • * 1856 : (Gustave Flaubert), (Madame Bovary), Part III Chapter X, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
  • He entered Maromme shouting for the people of the inn, burst open the door with a thrust of his shoulder, made for a sack of oats, emptied a bottle of sweet cider into the manger, and again mounted his nag, whose feet struck fire as it dashed along.
  • * 1913 , (Mariano Azuela), The Underdogs, translated by E. MunguÍa, Jr.
  • Like hungry dogs who have sniffed their meat, the mob bursts in, trampling down the women who sought to bar the entrance with their bodies.
  • To produce as an effect of bursting.
  • to burst a hole through the wall

    Derived terms

    * burst forth * burst into flame * burst out * burst someone's bubble