celluloid

American  

[sel-yuh-loid] / ˈsɛl yəˌlɔɪd /

noun

1. a tough, highly flammable substance consisting essentially of nitrocellulose and camphor: once used in the manufacture of motion-picture and x-ray film, it is now used in a limited line of other products, including guitar picks, musical instruments, and table tennis balls.

2. motion-picture film.

   He was an intense director and a scrupulous editor, famous for leaving piles of celluloid on the cutting-room floor.

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adjective

1. Informal. of or involving motion pictures.

   a star of the stage who was never lured into the celluloid industry.

celluloid British  

/ ˈsɛljʊˌlɔɪd /

noun

1. a flammable thermoplastic material consisting of cellulose nitrate mixed with a plasticizer, usually camphor: used in sheets, rods, and tubes for making a wide range of articles

2. 1. a cellulose derivative used for coating film

   2. one of the transparent sheets on which the constituent drawings of an animated film are prepared

   3. a transparent sheet used as an overlay in artwork

   4. cinema film

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Etymology

Origin of celluloid

First recorded in 1870–75; cellul(ose) + -oid; formerly a trademark

Explanation

Celluloid is a type of plastic that’s transparent and flammable. Until recently, most movies were filmed on celluloid. Celluloid is a name for film used in shooting movies. Because of its use in making films, this term came to stand for movies in general. Its days in the projection room are now pretty much finished — due to the rise of digital filming — but the figurative meaning lives on, wherever stars aspire. For example, you could say a TV actor was making the move from the small screen to celluloid. Besides movies, celluloid is used in shooting x-rays.

Example Sentences

The Celluloid Ceiling, an annual report that monitors the number of female film-makers, said 11 of the top 100 grossing films of 2024 were directed by women, down from 16 in 2020.

From BBC • Nov. 5, 2025

Celluloid production also required camphor, a tree-derived solvent and plasticizer sourced principally from Taiwan.

From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2022

Celluloid dreams: Our film critic Dana Stevens rounds out our first week of end-of-year rankings, selecting the 10 best movies of the year along with five runners-up.

From Slate • Dec. 6, 2019

When the documentary “The Celluloid Closet” came out in 1995, the public could begin to understand how rare it was for gay/queer or trans characters to be featured in film at all.

From Salon • Jan. 25, 2017

"It's in some of the story books," went on the tiny Celluloid Doll.

From The Story of a Stuffed Elephant by Hope, Laura Lee

Related Words

• cinema
• feature
• film
• flick
• motion picture
• picture
• show
• videotape