bust one's hump

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

To work very hard; to put in strenuous effort.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Làm việc rất chăm chỉ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

That poor guy is already busting his hump, learning his job, working sixteen or eighteen hours a day for some fruitloop who throws pens when he gets mad.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “bust one's hump” mean?

To work very hard; to put in strenuous effort.

Is “bust one's hump” formal or informal?

bust one's hump is generally slang.