blockbuster
[ blok-buhs-ter ]
/ ˈblɒkˌbʌs tər /
noun
an aerial bomb containing high explosives and weighing from four to eight tons, used as a large-scale demolition bomb.
a motion picture, novel, etc., especially one lavishly produced, that has or is expected to have wide popular appeal or financial success.
something or someone that is forcefully or overwhelmingly impressive, effective, or influential: The campaign was a blockbuster.
a real-estate speculator who practices blockbusting.
RELATED CONTENT
Nearby words
- blockade,
- blockade-runner,
- blockage,
- blockboard,
- blockbust,
- blockbusting,
- blocked,
- blocked shoe,
- blocker,
- blockflöte
Origin of blockbuster
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for blockbuster
blockbuster
/ (ˈblɒkˌbʌstə) /
noun informal
a large bomb used to demolish extensive areas or strengthened targets
a very successful, effective, or forceful person, thing, etc
a lavish film, show, novel, etc, that proves to be an outstanding popular success
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
blockbuster
also block-buster, big bomb (4,000 pounds or larger, according to some sources), 1942, from block (n.) in the "built-up city square" sense. Entertainment sense is attested from 1957. U.S. sense of "real estate broker who sells a house to a black family on an all-white neighborhood," thus sparking an exodus, is from 1955.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper