newsreel
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of newsreel
Explanation
A newsreel is a short, informative documentary film. In the early part of the twentieth century, newsreels were usually shown before movies in theaters. In the early 1900s, newsreels ran (often along with a cartoon) before a film. During World War Two, newsreels gave movie-goers news about the war as well as current events at home. The word dates from about 1915, from news and reel, the cylinder that film was wound around for being projected onto a screen.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Saxe-Coburg-Gotha still remembers the 1943 funeral as if watching an old newsreel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
A Pathé newsreel, filmed when she was five years old, noted that the toddler had "surprised musical critics by her playing of Beethoven".
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Some of that breadth is seen at the beginning in some astonishing newsreel footage from the era, which segues into Jacir’s establishing story threads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
Burstein amply and nimbly illustrates the conversation with film clips, newsreel footage, photographs and interviews.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2024
At the station, as they had in previous years, the marching band played fight songs, cheerleaders danced, the coaches made brief speeches, flashbulbs popped, and newsreel cameras whirred as the boys climbed onto the train.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
