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

Over in Los Angeles, Niecy Nash-Betts and her wife Jessica Betts attend an event celebrating LGBTQ+ cinema and television. —Escher Walcott, People.com, 7 June 2025

With a film career spanning Hong Kong and the United States, Lee is regarded as the first global Chinese film star and one of the most influential martial artists in the history of cinema. —New Atlas, 7 June 2025

Watching his victims struggle to stay alive is cinema to this twisted soul and Zephyr will be his next unwitting protagonist. —Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025

Many casting directors agree that cinema is suffering from a shortage of bankable leads. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 6 June 2025

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

Rhymes for cinema

• minima

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