Etymologically
Log in

blockbuster

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 12:21. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈblɒkˌbʌs.tə(ɹ)/[1]
  • US: /ˈblɑkˌbʌs.tɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English block + buster,[2][3][4][5] block being a city block, a built-up square of streets, and buster an agent noun from bust, to break.[3][6] The name refers to the widespread destruction such a bomb could cause.[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A very large aerial bomb, able to destroy a whole block of buildings: January 1942, in the Bureau County Democrat of Illinois.[2][3] Tréguer found block busters dropped on Italy and Germany in a Utah newspaper of 8 January 1942,[7] and Wilton an Associated Press report of 25 July 1942 on the RAF's two-ton block buster bombs.[8]

Semantic evolution

Figurative uses for anything of enormous impact followed within months: the OED's first is from Nation's Business of November 1942,[2][7] and a very hard punch was a blockbuster from 1943.[2][9] The sense of a hugely successful film, book or show grew from this,[2] and Etymonline dates it by 1952.[6] In the early 1950s Americans also called a real-estate agent a blockbuster who scared white owners into selling by suggesting that black families were moving into the area: the OED dates it to 1951, Etymonline to 1955.[2][6][10] The Historical Thesaurus places the word both among bombs and among things that inspire wonder, from 1942.[11]

Timeline

  • 1942 – a very large aerial bomb.[2][3]
  • 1942 – figurative, a thing of great impact.[2]
  • 1943 – a very hard punch.[2]
  • 1951 – a real-estate agent who practises blockbusting.[2]
  • 1952 – a spectacularly successful production.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Something, especially a film or book, that is very large, lavish or hugely successful: The sequel became the summer's biggest blockbuster.[12][3][2]
  2. A very large bomb dropped from an aircraft, able to destroy a whole block of buildings (historical).[12][3][2]
  3. A person or thing that is very effective or forceful.[12]
  4. (US) A person, especially a real estate agent, who practises blockbusting.[2][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Tréguer, Pascal, Word Histories, wordhistories.net, p. "‘blockbuster’: meanings and origin", 2 August 2023
  8. ^ Wilton, Dave, Wordorigins.org, wordorigins.org, p. "blockbuster", 28 May 2020
  9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  10. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
  11. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins