Blockbuster

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈblɒkˌbʌs.tə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. A highly successful and popular movie, book, or other entertainment product that achieves massive commercial success and widespread acclaim
2. A phenomenon in the entertainment industry, often referring to a film or book that gains tremendous popularity and substantial financial success while capturing audience enthusiasm
3. A work of entertainment, such as a film or novel, that achieves significant commercial success and garners widespread popularity and critical acclaim
4. A major production in film or literature that captures extensive audience interest and generates considerable revenue and praise

Etymology: The word began as a military term for a bomb. "Blockbuster" was the name for an aerial bomb large enough to destroy a whole city block, and its literal sense is the plain combination of its parts: "block," meaning a group of buildings, and "buster," meaning something that breaks or smashes. Nothing about the word was poetic or figurative at the start; it described a weapon whose blast could flatten an entire row of houses. The leap to entertainment came by metaphor. A show or book that hits the market with overwhelming force, flattening its rivals the way the bomb flattened buildings, came to be called a blockbuster. The image of sheer, crushing impact survived the move from the battlefield to the box office, which is why the word still suggests something huge rather than merely popular.

Synonyms: hit, success, smash, sensation, phenomenon

Antonyms: flop, failure, disappointment, letdown, bust