screenplay
Americannoun
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a motion-picture or television scenario.
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Older Use. a motion picture.
noun
Etymology
Origin of screenplay
Explanation
Before a movie can be filmed, a writer has to come up with a screenplay, a written script that describes all the action and every line the actors will speak. How entertaining, thrilling, realistic, or fantastic a movie is depends on many variables, one of the most important being the screenplay. A truly great screenplay includes brilliant dialogue that develops the characters and moves the action forward. TV shows and elaborate video games also require screenplays. Some writers adapt books or older movies into new screenplays, while others come up with entirely original stories for their screenplays.
Vocabulary lists containing screenplay
Academy Awards, List 3
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myPerspectives 7.3
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Introduction to Drama
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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.
Based on a 2014 play by David Haig, who co-wrote its screenplay with its director, Anthony Maras, the movie faces an obvious challenge: Watching meteorologists scribble notations on charts isn’t particularly cinematic.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
But Gyllenhaal conveys little of that interiority, letting the screenplay do all of the heavy lifting.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
Land has been optioned by the same producer behind Hamnet, and O'Farrell confirms she plans to write the screenplay.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Davis, Sarandon and director Ridley Scott were Oscar-nominated, and Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her screenplay.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
“I would,” Nora says, “but I want to work on my screenplay before I do my homework. I came up with a good idea for a scene today. During gym, actually.”
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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.
