smash hit

noun

1. a person or thing that is overwhelmingly successful or popular.

   Both the play and the movie based on it were smash hits.

Idioms and Phrases

An outstanding success, as in She was a smash hit in the role of the governess, or His first book was a smash hit but this one isn't doing well. [c. 1920]

Example Sentences

In less than a decade, he revived the western with his smash hit “Yellowstone” and spun out a Sheridan-verse of shows with brawny characters in heartland settings.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Sheridan’s smash hit programs, including “Yellowstone,” “Tulsa King” and “Landman,” had played a huge role in helping the company’s streaming service Paramount+ become a viable business.

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“Gallery Girls” may not have been a smash hit when it aired in the summer of 2012, but had the show been nurtured a bit longer, it could’ve been a Bravo staple.

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PG-rated family flicks have been smash hits this year, fueling box office sales worldwide.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Case in point: the music video for her 1989 smash hit “If I Could Turn Back Time.”

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Related Words

• comedy 
• drama 
• hit 
• musical 
• opera 
• performance 
• show 

When To Use

What does smash hit mean?

A smash hit is a wildly successful piece of media or entertainment, especially songs, movies and TV, and musicals. It’s broadened to refer to anything that’s very popular.How is smash hit pronounced?[ smash hit ]