tentpole

noun

tent·​pole ˈtent-ˌpōl 

: a big-budget movie whose earnings are expected to compensate the studio for its less profitable movies

Examples of tentpole in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Through its third weekend, the Marvel-Sony tentpole is targeting $67 million, which represents about a 53% decline from last week’s numbers. — Jack Dunn, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

Castings for the Zelda tentpole have been closely guarded — Latukefu’s is the first to emerge since Nintendo announced the film’s leads last July. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026

But fans will recognize the major tentpoles of this parody musical. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2026

So the Sony Pictures tentpole will share Imax screens with The Odyssey across select digital Imax locations, while Nolan’s tentpole continues to play in all 41 Imax 70mm film locations worldwide. — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tentpole

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• cajole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol