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

See Examples For:

blockbuster blockbusters

Coxon moved to San Francisco to start at OpenAI in 2023, after the blockbuster release of ChatGPT established the company as the industry’s leader.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Another major test for the market this fall: The IPO calendar is expected to heat up, with at least one blockbuster offering, from Anthropic, and other high-profile names expected to list, as well.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

In May, he appeared as Anne Hathaway’s new love interest in the summer blockbuster “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” and this week he headlines not one, but two television series premiering on back-to-back days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

On Wednesday, Fury, who defeated journeyman Mariusz Wach last month to keep the potential blockbuster clash with Joshua on track, said negotiations over the fight were becoming "quite tiring".

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

And I can always find something to mock in a blockbuster.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Apted went on to become a big name in Hollywood, directing blockbusters including James Bond's The World Is Not Enough, but he always returned to the show and said it was his most significant achievement.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The film industry rode blockbusters like Spider Man and The Odyssey to a record for domestic ticket sales, Rentrak preliminary data show.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

Bountiful DVD sales meant most films were profitable, even if they weren’t box office blockbusters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

A swath of other summer blockbusters would be released alongside them; A “Spider-Man” here, a “Mission: Impossible” there.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

Those dozen blockbusters are the cereals wheat, corn, rice, barley, and sorghum; the pulse soybean; the roots or tubers potato, manioc, and sweet potato; the sugar sources sugarcane and sugar beet; and the fruit banana.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond