auteur

[ oh-tur; French oh-tœr ]

/ oʊˈtɜr; French oʊˈtœr /

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noun, plural au·teurs

[oh-turz; French oh-tœr]. /oʊˈtɜrz; French oʊˈtœr/.

a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.

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Origin of auteur

1960–65; <French: literally, author, originator <Latin auctor.See author

OTHER WORDS FROM auteur

au·teur·ism, nounau·teur·ist, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use auteur in a sentence

Sarris is the American critic most responsible for importing the auteur theory to the US.
The tangled history behind David Fincher’s Mank — and its link to Citizen Kane — explained|Alissa Wilkinson|December 4, 2020|Vox
More seriousness, more Issues, more auteurism—and less laughter.
Why I Fell in Love With ‘Louie’ Again, Artistic Pretensions and All|Andrew Romano|June 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for auteur

auteur

/ (ɔːˈtɜː) /

noun

a director whose creative influence on a film is so great as to be considered its author

Derived forms of auteur

auteurism, nounauteurist, adjective

Word Origin for auteur

French: author

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012