blockbuster

[ blok-buhs-ter ]

noun

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.

blockbuster

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of blockbuster¹

First recorded in 1940–45; block + buster

Example Sentences

The carousel is already spinning in a peculiar new way, the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams having set the tone for a wild market with their blockbuster swap of Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff.

From Washington Post

The NFL’s quarterback shuffling has begun, and the first blockbuster trade of the offseason is in place.

From Washington Post

Unless people miss audience members talking or eating loudly during a movie, it’s hard to see viewers reverting en masse to movie houses—with the likely exception of seeing blockbuster movies that demand the big screen.

From Fortune

That mild air foiled any chance of a blockbuster snowstorm of the likes seen in northern Pennsylvania, south central New York and Vermont, where more than 40 inches fell in a few locations.

From Washington Post

Overall, mortgage rates remain very low and are unlikely to shift unless a blockbuster spending package is passed before the end of the year.

From Washington Post

The 2012 miniseries he co-starred in, Hatfields McCoys, was a ratings blockbuster for the History channel.

From The Daily Beast

Not only, in the rarest of cases, where there a female lead in a blockbuster action movie, but the damsel in distress was a dude.

From The Daily Beast

Cast Angelina Jolie in that role with Brad Pitt as the cave hubbie, and maybe we have a blockbuster in the making.

From The Daily Beast

Such standout performances have been rare: her big-screen blockbuster salvo, Batman Begins (2005), fizzled to nothing.

From The Daily Beast

On no other show would you see an A-list actor from a newly released blockbuster like Gone Girl getting fired up over Islam.

From The Daily Beast

We used to think that the B-17 was a huge plane, and the blockbuster it carried a huge load.

From Project Gutenberg

Our own blockbuster should get there before they fire again.

From Project Gutenberg