blockbuster

From block +‎ buster, referring originally to aerial bombs capable of destroying a whole block of buildings.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈblɒkˌbʌs.tə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈblɑkˌbʌs.tɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

blockbuster (plural blockbusters)

1. A high-explosive bomb used for the purposes of demolishing extensive areas, such as a city block.
2. (informal) Something, such as a film or book, that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales, as opposed to a box office bomb.
3. (informal) Something, especially an event or a film, book or other creative work, that is intended to achieve high sales (perhaps indicated by large budgets or high advertising spending) or that is conceived on a large or epic scale
   • 1961, “Ives”, in Twentieth Century Music In The Western Hemisphere‎^[2], J. B. Lippincott, page 146:

     "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" is lusty, a blockbuster conception.

   • 1994, “Drama”, in Whitaker's Almanack, 1994‎^[3], page 1135:

     The report noted that 'an increasing public appetite for large "blockbuster" musicals is a firmly established feature of London’s West End theatre scene'.

4. (slang) Anything very large or powerful; a whopper.
   • 1998, Yves Beauchemin, The Second Fiddle, page 383:

     “How nice," she responded to his invitation, “but I've got a blockbuster of a headache. I'm paying for last night. Call me tomorrow, will you?"

   • 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 211:

     Many—such as plants' relationships with mycorrhizal fungi—have been blockbuster moments in the history of life, with world-changing consequences.

   • 2021 July 21, Neil Irwin, “Is the U.S. Economy Too Hot or Too Cold? Yes.”, in The New York Times‎^[4], →ISSN, archived from the original on 23 July 2021:

     In the mid-2021 economy, employers are offering higher pay to attract scarce workers; airports and car lots are bustling; and a G.D.P. report due out next week will probably show blockbuster growth.

   • 2025 July 28, Devan Cole, John Fritze, Priscilla Alvarez, “New documents show how passport and Social Security rules would change to enforce Trump’s birthright citizenship order”, in CNN‎^[5]:

     The trove of documents from half a dozen federal agencies in recent days are a direct result of a blockbuster Supreme Court decision last month that allowed the administration to develop plans for ending birthright citizenship – even though the effort has once again been placed on hold.

5. A large firework of the firecracker type; an M-80.
6. (US) One who engages in blockbusting (technique encouraging people to sell property).
   • 2016, Sabiyha Prince, African Americans and Gentrification in Washington, D.C., page 106:

     Whereas White residents fell prey to blockbusters who stoked fears of invading Negroes and plummeting housing values during the 1950s, African Americans confronted more-than-imagined difficulties in neighborhoods after the 1968 riots.

Unadapted borrowing from English blockbuster.

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)
   • 2020 August 7, “Els cinemes espanyols acusen Disney d'enganyar el públic amb 'Mulan' [Spanish movie theaters accuse Disney of misleading the public with Mulan]”, in Ara‎^[6]:

     La cancel·lació de l'estrena a les sales després d'haver-la "publicitat des del primer moment en què es va presentar la pel·lícula" suposa un cop més per als empresaris de cinemes, que esperaven l'arribada del blockbuster per intentar recuperar-se de l'aturada del coronavirus.

     The cancellation of the premiere in theaters after having "advertised it from the first moment that the film was revealed" means one more blow to theater owners, who awaited the arrival of the blockbuster to try to recover from the stoppage of the coronavirus.

Unadapted borrowing from English blockbuster.

• IPA^(key): /blɔk.bys.tœʁ/, /blɔk.bœs.tœʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

Unadapted borrowing from English blockbuster. First attested in 1997.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /blɔɡˈbas.tɛr/
• Rhymes: -astɛr
• Syllabification: block‧bus‧ter

blockbuster m inan

1. (film, television) blockbuster

• bestseller

• blockbuster in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Unadapted borrowing from English blockbuster.

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

   Synonym: arrasa-quarteirão

• “blockbuster”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Unadapted borrowing from English blockbuster.

• IPA^(key): /bloɡˈbasteɾ/ [bloɣ̞ˈβ̞as.t̪eɾ]
• Rhymes: -asteɾ

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

1. blockbuster (film or book that sustains exceptional and widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales)

   Synonyms: taquillazo, bombazo

   • 2017 November 15, Adolfo López, “La Liga de la Justicia llega esta noche a salas mexicanas [Justice League arrives tonight in Mexican theaters]”, in El Sol de México‎^[7]:

     La Liga de la Justicia llega como uno de los blockbusters principales para la temporada de fin de año.

     Justice League arrives as one of the main blockbusters for the end of year season.

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.