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blockbusting

[ blok-buhs-ting ]
/ ˈblɒkˌbʌs tɪŋ /
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noun
the profiteering real-estate practice of buying homes from white majority homeowners below market value, based on the implied threat of future devaluation during minority integration of previously segregated neighborhoods.
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Origin of blockbusting

First recorded in 1940–45; block + bust2 + -ing1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use blockbusting in a sentence

  • He didn't speak English and my high school German was inadequate, especially accompanied by a blockbusting hangover.

    Unborn Tomorrow|Dallas McCord Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for blockbusting

blockbusting
/ (ˈblɒkˌbʌstɪŋ) /

noun
US informal the act or practice of inducing the sale of property cheaply by exploiting the owners' fears of lower prices if racial minorities live in the area
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
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