Dictionary.com
definitions

filming

[fil-ming]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR filming ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or period of photographing, especially of a motion picture.

RELATED CONTENT

Behind The Scenes Of Bizarre Film GenresRead more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
What Does the Exploitation Film Genre Have to do with Watergate? An Exploration of LibfixesA few weeks ago, we discussed the –core suffix in relation to the word mumblecore. Today we’re going to take a look at another robust suffix born on the silver screen, –sploitation. While the term mumblecore stuck, another name suggested for this slow-paced genre didn’t quite catch on: ennuisploitation. The ennui element comes from the French word meaning “boredom,” though the perhaps more interesting part …
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

shoot, photograph, record, take, roll

Nearby words

  1. filmcard,
  2. filmdom,
  3. filmgoer,
  4. filmi,
  5. filmic,
  6. filmization,
  7. filmland,
  8. filmmaker,
  9. filmography,
  10. filmset

Origin of filming

First recorded in 1885–90; film + -ing1

film

[film]

noun

a thin layer or coating: a film of grease on a plate.
a thin sheet of any material: a film of ice.
a thin skin or membrane.
a delicate web of filaments or fine threads.
a thin haze, blur, or mist.
Photography.
  1. a cellulose nitrate or cellulose acetate composition made in thin sheets or strips and coated with a sensitive emulsion 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.
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. motion picture.
Often films,
  1. motion pictures collectively.
  2. the motion-picture industry, or its productions, operations, etc.
  3. motion pictures, as a genre of art or entertainment: experimental film.

verb (used with object)

to cover with a film, thin skin, or pellicle: filmed eyes.
Movies.
  1. to photograph with a motion-picture camera.
  2. to reproduce in the form of motion pictures: to film a novel.

verb (used without object)

to become covered by a film: The water filmed over with ice.
Movies.
  1. to be reproduced in a motion picture, especially in a specified manner: This story films easily.
  2. to direct, make, or otherwise engage in the production of motion pictures.

Origin of film

before 1000; 1890–95 for def 6; 1900–05 for def 7; Middle English filme, Old English filmen membrane; akin to fell4
Related formsfilm·like, adjectivere·film, verb (used with object)un·filmed, adjectivewell-filmed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for filming

British Dictionary definitions for filming

film

noun

  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
a thin flexible strip of cellulose coated with a photographic emulsion, used to make negatives and transparencies
a thin coating or layer
a thin sheet of any material, as of plastic for packaging
a fine haze, mist, or blur
a gauzy web of filaments or fine threads
pathol an abnormally opaque tissue, such as the cornea in some eye diseases

verb

  1. to photograph with a cine camera
  2. to make a film of (a screenplay, event, etc)
(often foll by over) to cover or become covered or coated with a film

Word Origin for film

Old English filmen membrane; related to Old Frisian filmene, Greek pelma sole of the foot; see fell 4
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for filming
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for filming

film

[fĭlm]

n.

A light-sensitive or x-ray-sensitive substance used in taking photographs or radiographs.
A thin layer or membranous coating.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.