screenplay

noun

screen·​play ˈskrēn-ˌplā How to pronounce screenplay (audio)
: the script and often shooting directions of a story prepared for movie production

Examples of screenplay in a Sentence

an award for best screenplay each actor will be given a copy of the screenplay to study
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, and the screenplay was co-written by longtime Martin Scorsese collaborator Jay Cocks. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024 According to a recent report from Deadline published on Tuesday, December 10, the main cast of the films would return along with John Hamburg — the co-author of all three movies in the franchise and producer of Little Fockers — to write the screenplay for the upcoming movie. Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024 That detachment leaves something of a hole where the emotional center should be in the screenplay by Mangold and Jay Cocks. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Dec. 2024 Once the screenplay was done, Reijn worked out all of the blocking firsthand, on location. Alex Barasch, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for screenplay 

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of screenplay was in 1920

Dictionary Entries Near screenplay

Cite this Entry

“Screenplay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screenplay. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

screenplay

noun
screen·​play ˈskrēn-ˌplā How to pronounce screenplay (audio)
: the written form of a story prepared for film production

More from Merriam-Webster on screenplay

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