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.
“Tow” might not be a knockout, but it’s far from the dregs of cinema.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
Humour and science fiction may not seem obvious bedfellows but a history of cinema will tell you different.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
“This film would not exist without the master of cinema, the great artist that is Denis Villeneuve,” Chalamet said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
But any debate over female filmmakers in genre cinema crumbles under the considerable evidence and attendant indignation to be found in “1000 Women in Horror.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
After my Pilates class last night I asked Tara if she wanted to go to the cinema with me one night next week, then if she’d cover for me.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
