film

American  

[film] / fɪlm /

noun

• films
  plural

1. a thin layer or coating.

   a film of grease on a plate.

2. a thin sheet of any material.

   a film of ice.

3. a thin skin or membrane.

   The whitish film over your eye is a cataract.

4. a delicate web of filaments or fine threads.

   The fabric embedded in the polyurethane is essentially a film of fiberglass.

5. a thin haze, blur, or mist.

   A pale film of drizzly twilight soon gave way to a dense fog.

6. Photography.

   1. a composition of plastic or similar material made into thin sheets or strips and coated with a light-sensitive emulsion, used for taking photographs.

   2. a strip or roll of this.

   3. the coating of emulsion on such a sheet or strip or on a photographic plate.

7. Movies.

   1. a strip of transparent material, usually cellulose triacetate, covered with a photographic emulsion and perforated along one or both edges, intended for the recording and reproduction of images.

   2. a similar perforated strip covered with an iron oxide emulsion magfilm, intended for the recording and reproduction of both images and sound.

   3. a movie; motion picture.

      We decided to stay home and watch a Kurosawa film.

8. Sometimes films

   1. movies collectively.

      Film is the quintessential storytelling medium of the 20th century.

   2. the movie industry, or its productions, operations, etc..

      He wants to get into films as a director.

   3. movies as a genre of art or entertainment.

      experimental film.

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verb (used with object)

• films,
  present (3rd person singular)
• filmed,
  past participle,  past
• filming
  present participle

1. to cover with a film, thin skin, or pellicle.

   A bloom of algae films the pond every summer.

2. Movies.

   1. to record in video format as a movie, with or without audio.

      We didn't know we were being filmed.

   2. to make a movie of.

      to film a novel.

verb (used without object)

• films,
  present (3rd person singular)
• filmed,
  past participle,  past
• filming
  present participle

1. to become covered by a film.

   The water filmed over with ice.

   Synonyms:

   veil, cloud, haze, mist

2. Movies.

   1. to be reproduced in video format as a movie, especially in a specified manner.

      This story films easily.

   2. to direct, make, or otherwise engage in the production of movies, TV shows, or other video content.

      They'll be filming here for the next six months.

film British  

/ fɪlm /

noun

1. 1. a sequence of images of moving objects photographed by a camera and providing the optical illusion of continuous movement when projected onto a screen

   2. a form of entertainment, information, etc, composed of such a sequence of images and shown in a cinema, etc

   3. ( as modifier )

      film techniques

2. a thin flexible strip of cellulose coated with a photographic emulsion, used to make negatives and transparencies

3. a thin coating or layer

4. a thin sheet of any material, as of plastic for packaging

5. a fine haze, mist, or blur

6. a gauzy web of filaments or fine threads

7. pathol an abnormally opaque tissue, such as the cornea in some eye diseases

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verb

1. 1. to photograph with a cine camera

   2. to make a film of (a screenplay, event, etc)

2. (often foll by over) to cover or become covered or coated with a film

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• refilm
  verb (used with object)
• filmlike
  adjective
• unfilmed
  adjective
• well-filmed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• films
  plural

Participles

• filming
  present
• filmed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• film
  simple
• films
  simple
• have filmed
  perfect
• has filmed
  perfect
• am filming
  progressive
• are filming
  progressive
• is filming
  progressive
• have been filming
  perfect progressive
• has been filming
  perfect progressive

Past

• filmed
  simple
• had filmed
  perfect
• was filming
  progressive
• were filming
  progressive
• had been filming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will film
  simple
• will have filmed
  perfect
• will be filming
  progressive
• will have been filming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of film

First recorded before 1000, in 1890–95 film for def. 6, and in 1900–05 film for def. 7; Middle English filme, Old English filmen membrane; akin to fell ⁴

Explanation

A film, also known as a "movie" or a "motion picture," is a series of moving images shown on a screen, usually with sound, that make up a story. Some people like to see new films at the theater as soon as they're released. You might pretend to be a fan of French films while secretly preferring animated films. The movie itself is a film, and you can also use the word to mean the photographic strip of plastic that runs through a camera and captures the film's images. It's also a verb, meaning to use such a camera: "Let's film a scene where you play with my cat!" The Old English root word is filmen, "membrane or thin skin."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

film films filmed filming

Watching film and diagramming plays deep into the night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Ed Gamble, the host of BBC Two's Uncloaked, added: "It felt like he'd been given the lead role in a film and he just had to tell everyone. It's such an insane moment."

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Zoe Kazan—granddaughter of Elia, who directed the 1955 film version—adapts the classic novel into a seven-part drama starring Florence Pugh.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Atonement” is a film about compassion that knows not all sympathetic characters are created equal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Molly’s hands trembled, and for a moment she hesitated, unwilling or unable to touch it, before at last reaching in and roughly unspooling the film.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

We’ve met such men before, and I’m ordinarily allergic to films in which actors cry in an effort to make the audience cry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Under the proposed decree, the combined company must release at least 30 films a year in theaters in the first two years and 32 films a year in the following three years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

But with “Heart of the Beast” generating a fraction of the response Pitt’s films did even less than a decade ago, it’s evident that his star power has taken a hit.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

The decline has also changed the way Indians experience films.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Last year was Hayao Miyazaki, when we’d watched as many Miyazaki films as we could and collected figurines.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

Films like 1994’s “Forrest Gump,” 2003’s “Radio” and the 2004 romance “The Notebook” were all filmed in South Carolina — the latter of which Scott said was his favorite movie shot in state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

Occasionally, men in dark clothing, masks and sunglasses monitored and filmed the scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Child lived in the house for roughly four decades and filmed several of her later television shows there, including “In Julia’s Kitchen with Master Chefs” and “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.”

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

The Stafford teenager said she was contacted by her agent and did a filmed audition for the show in January.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

I knew that Phil had filmed me at the camp pool but not that Gay had watched my Lucille Ball skit at the talent show.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Young people have been gathering in recent days to cheer him on at Freedom Park in Lagos, filming his every move and dancing along from behind the barriers.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

She said her husband did not go up, and instead "stood at the bottom filming" during the summer.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

“So when I was traveling and doing all of the filming, the director was asking me questions, and there’s some private questions that I will answer that people never heard before,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

From a combination of mold exposure and severe burnout from filming “After Midnight” on weekdays and performing in different cities on weekends, she fell ill for months and was forced to take a break.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

She feels a lump form in her throat, tears filming her eyes.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• cinema
• flick
• footage
• motion picture
• picture
• show