review bomb

verb

variants or review-bomb

ri-ˈvyü-ˌbäm 

review bombed or review-bombed; review bombing or review-bombing; review bombs or review-bombs

transitive verb

: to post a usually negative online review of (a product, business, etc.) especially as part of a coordinated campaign

When users began to review bomb the app last Thursday, Robinhood reached a one-star rating with nearly 275,000 reviews.

—Chaim Gartenberg

This is just a selection of some of the books getting review bombed in the wake of censorship attempts.

—Danika Ellis

A massage therapy business owner accidentally sent a racist message complaining about a Black customer to the customer. Now, his business is getting review-bombed on Yelp.

—Moises Mendez II

On Steam, where the game launched for the first time this week … players have flocked to post their opinions and review-bomb the game.

—Bree Royce

review bomb noun

plural review bombs

The Steam review bombs, especially, have been vicious, with over 3,000 negative reviews being posted … in the past two days.

—Nathan Grayson

review bomber noun

or review-bomber

plural review bombers or review-bombers

… while maliciously tanking the score of a local B&B or a self-published novel might affect the fortunes of a small business, what possible effect can review bombers have on entertainment juggernauts?

—Rich Wordsworth

Examples of review bomb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Arrowhead and Sony later walked back that decision after a massive outcry from players, including review bombing the game on Steam. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 23 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

2008, in the meaning defined above