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.

---

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

---

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

A particularly egregious example that my husband loves to revisit happened after we had just gotten out of an advance screening of “Avengers: Endgame,” the 2019 blockbuster.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

That was the year, after going all-in with blockbuster moves before and late in the season, the Rams won Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 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

Their blockbuster marked the first time two women headlined the storied New York venue.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Imagine a blockbuster movie about a world united in battle against Nazi oppression.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Apted went on to become a big name in Hollywood, directing blockbusters including James Bond's The World Is Not Enough, but he always returned to the show and said it was his most significant achievement.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

In a season full of intense dramas, massive blockbusters and thought-provoking indie films, these are the movies that will be on everyone’s lips.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

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

The story has elements similar to popular summer blockbusters, but they’re so finely remixed and retooled that they don’t bear such exhausting resemblance to their forebears.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

The conventional bombs of World War II were called blockbusters.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan