Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Be bursting to do for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's entry is "be bursting to do" — a verb phrase, pronounced /bɪ ˈbɜːstɪŋ tuː duː/, with the stress on "burst".
Narrator: Be bursting to do means feeling an intense, eager urge to do something immediately.
Narrator: In plain English, this phrase describes overwhelming excitement or eagerness barely contained.
Narrator: It builds from "bursting", overflowing energy, plus "to do", the specific desired action.
Narrator: "Bursting to tell someone" describes struggling to contain exciting news any longer.
Narrator: It differs from "want to" by intensity — bursting to implies barely restrained, urgent eagerness.
Narrator: "Bursting to start" describes feeling intensely eager to begin a task right away.
Narrator: Everyday excited conversation frequently relies on "bursting to" for vivid emotional expression.
Narrator: So remember: bursting to do marks intense eagerness — an urge so strong it feels barely containable.
Speaker A: "Bursting to tell someone" always sounds so vivid. Is that phrase really stronger than just saying "excited to tell"?
Speaker B: Genuinely, yes, noticeably stronger! BE BURSTING TO DO builds from "bursting", overflowing energy, implying the feeling is almost physically overwhelming. "Excited to tell" sounds calmer, while bursting suggests barely holding it in.
Speaker A: So the physical, overflowing imagery really does add that extra emotional intensity compared to plain excitement?
Speaker B: Exactly — that overflowing imagery is precisely why bursting to do feels so much more vivid!
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "She's bursting to share the news"; "he was bursting to start the new job"; "the kids were bursting to open presents" — exciting secret, career eagerness, and childhood excitement.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Always "bursting to" plus a verb — don't say "bursting for to", which is grammatically incorrect!
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: "Eager to" the milder cousin, "itching to" the near-identical twin, "dying to" the intense alternative. Bursting to do keeps its vivid, energetic charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "bursting to do" in AI prompts — useful for onboarding-copy enthusiasm-building and marketing-launch anticipation messaging.
Speaker A: So bursting to do in a prompt could help build onboarding-copy enthusiasm, or write launch-anticipation messaging?
Speaker B: Right. For onboarding copy building enthusiasm, you'd write:
Prompt: Write onboarding copy for a user who's bursting to try the new feature, keeping the tone energetic and welcoming.
Speaker A: Good — what about launch-anticipation messaging describing fans bursting to get their hands on a new release?
Speaker B: The launch-anticipation prompt:
Prompt: Write a teaser saying fans are bursting to get their hands on this release, building hype before launch day.
Speaker A: A gamification feature rewarding users who seem bursting to complete their next daily challenge?
Speaker B: The gamification prompt:
Prompt: Reward users who seem bursting to complete their next challenge, offering a bonus badge for fast completion.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: The email-marketing prompt:
Prompt: Write a subject line for subscribers bursting to hear about our surprise announcement this Friday.
Be bursting to do — meaning in Arabic & definition More B courses GL Dictionary