blockbusting

American

[blok-buhs-ting] / ˈblɒkˌbʌs tɪŋ /

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.

blockbusting British

/ ˈblɒkˌbʌstɪŋ /

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of blockbusting

First recorded in 1940–45; block + bust ² + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

blockbusting

"The Disney+ 19th-century bare-knuckle boxing series is blockbusting television in every conceivable sense."

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025

The reappearance of cocky Navy pilot Capt. Pete Mitchell to movie theaters sent blockbusting shockwaves around the world.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 11, 2022

Her 21st-birthday gown, designed by Christian Dior, had a starring role in the V&A’s blockbusting Dior exhibition this year.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 20, 2019

She invites ecological destruction on the blockbusting pop single 4 Degrees, with lacerating irony.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 9, 2016

I reached in where we used to keep milk, pulled one out and it looked bigger than a blockbusting bomb.

From Epistles from Pap: Letters from the man known as 'The Will Rogers of Indiana' by Douglas (Douglas N.) Hay

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023