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
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.
If ’00s revivals are all the rage in clothing and aesthetics, it stands to reason that the same would be true in cinema.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
"In the cinema, Bond’s legacy as a character has become problematic and his motivations as a modern British secret agent uncertain," he added.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Before moving to Berkeley, she received her bachelor’s degree from USC in cinema and media studies and worked an eclectic series of jobs across the entertainment, fashion, media and service industries.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2026
Reports that the large-format cinema operator is up for sale have sent its stock soaring and analysts predicting interest from a wide range of prospective buyers — from tech and media companies to sovereign-wealth funds.
From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026
In Afghanistan, I had only seen the ocean at the cinema.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
