motion picture
Americannoun
-
Movies.
-
a sequence of consecutive still images photographed in a series by a specially designed camera motion-picture camera and thrown on a screen by a projector motion-picture projector in such rapid succession as to give the illusion of natural movement.
Jean Cocteau produced some of the most innovative motion pictures of the postwar era.
-
such a video sequence recorded and played in other media formats, as VHS or digital video.
Critics have given mixed reviews to the new trend of feature-length motion pictures shot on smartphones.
-
-
a story, event, or the like, presented in this form.
The motion picture is adapted from the novel of the same name.
-
motion pictures, the art, technique, or business of producing motion pictures.
The Academy honors achievement in motion pictures every year at the Oscars.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of motion picture
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
"She actually looked at a motion picture and went, 'I get it! He's going to be the villain and they're going to do this'," he recalled.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
Before the recent boom, the last major motion picture that anyone could remember that did the bulk of its shooting in New Jersey was 1982’s “Annie.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
To display his photographs in rapid succession, Muybridge invented a device that birthed the motion picture.
From Slate • May 25, 2026
At the same time, the motion picture academy was tweaking its rules for determining the shortlist for the international feature award, opening voting to more members.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
When Walt Disney made a motion picture of Bambi, his artists based their images on the Great North Woods of Maine, but this was palpably not a Disney forest of roomy glades and cuddlesome creatures.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
