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

Among its proposals are additional tax incentives to benefit independent films, support for independent cinemas, and the streaming tax. —Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2025

The Cannes Film Festival expects robust attendance — especially compared to the strike and pandemic editions — as the Côte d’Azur’s main of event of cinema is once again the starting point of awards season. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2025

Musicians will take the stage to perform the film score in synchronization with the original movie, presented in its entirety on large cinema screens. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 Apr. 2025

This is ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show for kids‘ Disruptive cinema screenings aren’t a new phenomenon. —Issy Van Der Velde, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 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