Meaning & use
gangbusters
Last updated
With great and often unexpected success or energy (usually in the phrase 'like gangbusters').
See it in a sentence
Sales went like gangbusters after the product was featured on morning television.
The new restaurant opened like gangbusters, with lines out the door every night.
A note on using this word
The expression traces back to the 1930s American radio show 'Gang Busters,' which opened with such a loud, dramatic sound effect that 'like gangbusters' came to mean an explosive, powerful start.
Words with a similar meaning
extremely wellwith great success
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
poorlysluggishly
Make it your own
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