celluloid
Americannoun
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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.
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motion-picture film.
He was an intense director and a scrupulous editor, famous for leaving piles of celluloid on the cutting-room floor.
adjective
noun
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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
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a cellulose derivative used for coating film
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one of the transparent sheets on which the constituent drawings of an animated film are prepared
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a transparent sheet used as an overlay in artwork
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cinema film
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Etymology
Origin of celluloid
First recorded in 1870–75; cellul(ose) + -oid; formerly a trademark
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.
On the end of each string was a good-size celluloid ring—one was blue and the other was yellow.
From Literature
The only physical elements on display are six film projectors and the celluloid that contains frames of unreleased footage, which are shown on screens of different sizes around the room.
From Los Angeles Times
By 2013, more movies were being shot digitally than on celluloid.
There is a virtual crowd of female editors reminiscing and reflecting on Ms. Hillgrove and her work, and the fact that there was a celluloid ceiling in the film industry.
Recent topics in her Antiques and Collectibles series have included lectures on celluloid, vintage weddings and Art Deco.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
