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

In the Amicus bonus episode, Susan again joins Dahlia and Mark to discuss a blockbuster end to the Supreme Court’s 2025–26 term and Gorsuch’s role.

From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026

Last week, Nvidia reported blockbuster second-quarter earnings results, which led to the company achieving its largest one-day market-capitalization gain on record.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

The manager was the key factor in this blockbuster deal with Maresca keen to reunite with his former Chelsea skipper.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Overdeck didn’t flinch when he mentioned the figure, just one of the many staggering sums being bandied about in a blockbuster divorce trial under way in a New Jersey courthouse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

As Chauncey Burr continued a lecture tour west into Cleveland, Ohio, he readied Ruth’s blockbuster confession for release.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

But while the festival may lack mass-market blockbusters, there is no shortage of larger-than-life subjects, with films about Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch and the volatile Gallagher brothers from the Britpop band Oasis on the calendar.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 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

But industry observers say no couple has made this much box-office revenue from back-to-back blockbusters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

But is it really worth seeing these blockbusters in Imax?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

The conventional bombs of World War II were called blockbusters.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan