CGI
Americanabbreviation
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computer-generated images; computer-generated imagery: digitally created graphics used in movies and other visual media, often in the form of 3D animation: null CG
The latest movie in the franchise uses more practical effects and less CGI than its predecessors.
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Common Gateway Interface: a protocol for instructing a server to execute a user-generated script on an interactive website, such as when a user enters a query using an online form and receives information retrieved from a database (often used attributively).
CGI enhances the utility of a site by enabling user interaction.
A CGI script allows users of the site to search for information on a particular local physician.
abbreviation
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computer-generated image or imagery
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common gateway interface
Etymology
Origin of CGI
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
Parsons used a CGI programme called Blender to create environments beyond his budget.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
"We have an audience that grew up with the original "Air Bud" movie where there was no CGI," Vince said.
From Barron's • May 10, 2026
"I think that's pretty cool in the age of CGI."
From BBC • May 1, 2026
The frequent appearance of animated creatures suggests someone was quite fond of the CGI available, but the 3-D images of fossilized remains on the screens of the biological historians—and how they read them—are consistently fascinating.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026
Unix sysadmins, who are almost always incorrigible hackers, generally consider it one of the languages of choice, and it is by far the most widely used tool for making `live' web pages via CGI.
From The Jargon File, Version 4.2.2, 20 Aug 2000 by Steele, Guy L.
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.
