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
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.
“I think when you are making a film that is confronting one of the ultimate taboos in cinema, you’re going to have a tough time,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
But audiences have heard that before about, for example, 3D cinema, which has failed to gain significant traction more than once over the years.
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
Passionately defending cinema on the big screen and then waiting for the next suggested movie to segue into our queue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
The Price of the Vote documentary film, which aired on Thursday evening at a Budapest cinema and on YouTube, presents the results of a six-month investigation by independent filmmakers and reporters.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
Boaz, the handsome nerd who could not show up on time if his life depended on it, knew something she did not, in her cinema.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
