blockbuster

American  

[blok-buhs-ter] / ˈblɒkˌbʌs tər /

noun

blockbusters plural

1. an aerial bomb containing high explosives and weighing from four to eight tons, used as a large-scale demolition bomb.

2. a motion picture, novel, etc., especially one lavishly produced, that has or is expected to have wide popular appeal or financial success.

3. something or someone that is forcefully or overwhelmingly impressive, effective, or influential.

   The campaign was a blockbuster.

4. a real-estate speculator who practices blockbusting.

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blockbuster British  

/ ˈblɒkˌbʌstə /

noun

1. a large bomb used to demolish extensive areas or strengthened targets

2. a very successful, effective, or forceful person, thing, etc

3. a lavish film, show, novel, etc, that proves to be an outstanding popular success

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• blockbusters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of blockbuster

First recorded in 1940–45; block + buster

Explanation

A blockbuster is a Hollywood movie that's made with a large budget and big stars. A true blockbuster is extremely popular and brings in a lot of money. Typically, a blockbuster is a fabulous summer movie that audiences line up to see the first weekend it's released. You can also call a successful play or a new, popular video game a blockbuster. Less, often, a huge bomb is a blockbuster — this is the word's original, 1940s meaning, from the fact that such a bomb could destroy an entire city block. The entertainment meaning, from the 1950s, began as theater slang.

Example Sentences

She also felt the show is "nothing if not committed to the time period" with the 90s soundtrack and references to era-specific things like Blockbuster and rich kids coming from "Microsoft money".

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026

The little bean bags that once appeared relegated to the same cultural graveyard as mixtapes and Blockbuster have taken over high-school sports fields, hallways and sometimes classrooms seemingly overnight.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

Blockbuster earnings helped carry stocks to new highs in recent weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Before streaming platforms dominated at-home entertainment, consumers relied on places like Blockbuster, the now nearly erased movie rental chain and RedBox, the defunct movie vending machines, to watch newly released films.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

A clerk at the Blockbuster had helped Curly find the film, which had been released several years earlier, before Kimberly Lou Dixon signed on for the Mother Paula TV commercials.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen