cinema

noun

cin·​e·​ma ˈsi-nə-mə 

 British also  -ˌmä

1

a

: motion picture

—usually used attributively

b

: a motion-picture theater

2

a

: movies

especially : the film industry

b

: the art or technique of making motion pictures

Synonyms

• big screen
• film
• filmdom
• filmland
• filmmaking
• movie
• moviemaking
• pictures
• screen
• silver screen

Examples of cinema in a Sentence

a student of French cinema

We drove by the cinema to see what was playing.

Recent Examples on the Web

Compared to the golden decades of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, Hong Kong action cinema has suffered a relative downturn. —Sara Merican, Deadline, 17 Dec. 2024

The mission is to offer cultural experiences within the community through cinema, live performances and local arts and educational programs. —Brent Lang, Variety, 17 Dec. 2024

Other major titles include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, David Fincher’s Facebook origin story The Social Network, Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke, and the Coen Brothers’ Best Picture-winner No Country for Old Men. The Film Registry class of 2024 spans nearly 115 years of cinema history. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 17 Dec. 2024

View 6 Images Epson has added what's described as a super-short-throw projector to its home cinema options. —Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

short for cinematograph

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cinema

• cinema verité
• go to the cinema

Kids Definition

cinema

noun

cin·​e·​ma ˈsin-ə-mə 

1

a

: movie sense 2a

a cinema director

b

: a theater for showing movies

went to the cinema

2

a

: the business of making movies

worked in cinema

b

: the art or technique of making movies

a student of French cinema

cinematic

ˌsin-ə-ˈmat-ik

adjective

cinematically

-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Etymology

derived from French cinématographe "motion picture," from Greek kinēma "movement" and graphe "picture," from kinein "to move" — related to kinetic