different between blockbust vs blockbuster

English

Etymology

block +? buster

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bl?k?b?st?(?)/

Noun

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. (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?"

4. A large firework of the firecracker type; an M-80.
5. (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.

Descendants

Translations

Related terms

• blockbust (verb form)
• block
• bust

Catalan

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

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

French

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Pronunciation

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

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

Portuguese

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

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

Further reading

• “blockbuster” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Spanish

Etymology

From English blockbuster.

Noun

blockbuster m (plural blockbusters)

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

   Synonyms: taquillazo, bombazo