Meanings
- colloquialsimileVigorously, rapidly, zealously, or forcibly; in a manner which has considerable impact.
"Put an actress in knock-out clothes and she'll come through like gangbusters."
1954 December 9, Hedda Hopper, “Chandler, Baxter 'Spoilers' Costars”, in Los Angeles Times, page B122 more examples
Chromebooks are selling like gangbusters, but the party could be coming to an end [title]
2021 July 14, Paul Lilly, “Chromebooks are selling like gangbusters, but the party could be coming to an end”, in PC GamerWearing its politics heavier on its sleeve is Being the Ricardos, a late-breaking Amazon Studios film from Aaron Sorkin that played like gangbusters at industry screenings in New York and Los Angeles.
2022 January 7, Richard Lawson, “The Best-Picture Race: Sure Things, Crowd-Pleasers, and the Late-Breaking Potential Upsets”, in Vanity Fair
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From the American true crime radio drama Gang Busters (1936–1957), which opened abruptly with loud sound effects of police sirens, machine guns, etc.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
like gangbusters. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20gangbusters
“like gangbusters.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20gangbusters. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “like gangbusters,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20gangbusters.
Source: like gangbusters on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.