cinema
Americannoun
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movies collectively, as an art.
During the Great Depression, cinema provided psychological comfort, an escape from the harsh realities of daily life.
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Chiefly British. Also kinema movie theater.
Do you know if there is a cinema near the British Museum?
noun
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a place designed for the exhibition of films
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( as modifier )
a cinema seat
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the art or business of making films
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films collectively
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Other Word Forms
- cinematic adjective
- cinematically adverb
Etymology
Origin of cinema
First recorded in 1895–1900; short for cinematograph
Explanation
A cinema is another word for a movie theater. If you love films, you probably spend a lot of time at the cinema. It's more common to say cinema in Britain than in the United States, but any English speaker will know what you're talking about if you ask, "Want to go to the cinema?" You can also use cinema to talk about the film industry and its history: "This is my favorite film in all of American cinema." The word was first used in 1899, from the French cinéma, which was a shortened form of cinématographe, "motion picture projector and camera."
Vocabulary lists containing cinema
And the Oscar Goes to... Award-worthy Words
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Academy Awards, List 6
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 17–July 23, 2021
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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.
But there are clouds on the horizon for cinema owners, said O'Leary, with unease over Paramount's attempt to swallow Warner Bros.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
A decade ago, filmgoers in the United States and Canada would frequently spend more than $11 billion annually at the cinema, but since the pandemic, the total take has not exceeded $9 billion.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
It reminded me of two similar films that deal in extremity and, on their face, look like inflammatory cinema until picked apart and examined more closely.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
He wants to hang a sheet from the chalet to project films into a summer open air cinema, and open a bistro where they could offer cookery classes.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
Goose bumps prickle along my arms as we enter the cinema.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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.
