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

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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

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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

She’s open to seeing Latinas being everything in TV and film, where can they exist in a world in which they can just be people who just happen to be Latinas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Their last film together was 2018's "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", an offbeat Oscar-nominated Western starring Tim Blake Nelson, which followed the 1950s Hollywood-set satirical comedy "Hail, Caesar!" in 2016.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Gibney also profiled Holmes in his 2019 work “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” which adds another layer of coincidental symmetry: Fielder’s film hits theaters on Oct.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Johansson starred in the 2013 Spike Jonze film “Her,” voicing Samantha, the AI companion character.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

He ran to her apartment building and showed the coin and the film to Carolyn and her mother.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

This was a break from the tightly coiffed styling of earlier period productions, from Merchant Ivory films to Ang Lee’s 1995 “Sense and Sensibility,” in which Kate Winslet charmed as a put-together Marianne.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

This would help explain the microscopic cavities observed in the plastic films.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The series joins a wave of recent films and TV shows exploring and confronting the rapidly evolving tech sector.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Aside from his stage work, Mandell appeared in several films, where he played understated characters grounded in his work in the theater of the absurd.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Since separate health classes were no longer taught at our school, each sixth-grade class had to watch six health-and-safety films.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Chinese-made cars filmed sensitive information during a Norwegian military exercise, including access codes at secure sites and officials' comings and goings, raising concerns about the risks posed by connected vehicles.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

But after a brief phone call, she invited them over and agreed to be filmed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Reform says the people filmed by ITV are all under investigation, and have already either resigned or been suspended.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Others have filmed themselves adopting his signature posture: crouched halfway to the ground, hands on his knees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Early in his career, for example, Paul Ekman filmed forty psychiatric patients, including a woman named Mary, a forty-two-year-old housewife.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

“The Batman Part II” began filming in London in June after a number of previous delays while Reeves and Mattson Tomlin wrote the script.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

In a 2020 interview with Nashville Lifestyles, Gifford explained that she had visited the city plenty of times throughout her career, recording albums, filming TV shows, and attending the CMA festival.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

He wrote “La Nieve” the night after filming an emotionally demanding execution and took inspiration from the verses in the last letter that Lorca wrote to Rodríguez Rapún.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

The Welsh flag was taken down from the town hall for the filming, with Price saying Cowbridge would be depicted as a town in Herefordshire.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

With Jack filming, I show them what's in the shed, the trailer bed, and finally, my blueprint.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

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Related Words

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

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