potboiler
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of potboiler
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.
Bradford’s potboiler hit in time to meet the “greed is good” ’80s, a decade when the wealth divide increased sharply and economic survival felt only slightly less Darwinian than it does today.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
And there's a cheeky riposte to their critics on the jazzy potboiler They Don't Know 'Bout Us: "You say we changed? We feel the same."
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2026
A lurid tale of misadventure, moral bankruptcy and mean girls, “His & Hers” has other qualities, too, notably Tessa Thompson, whose recent turn in “Hedda” haunts her role in this potboiler.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
In that potboiler, a film he later disavowed as too tame, he was publicized as the first Black matinee idol for mainstream audiences.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2023
I went into the house to fetch the required sum, and, by some means I cannot explain, got to work again upon the latest potboiler.
From Mr. Punch in Bohemia by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.