green screen

American

[green skreen] / ˈgrin ˌskrin /

noun

Movies, Television.

an electronic special-effects system, commonly used in television weather forecast segments, that isolates and removes a static plain green background from the live foreground shot so that the background can be filled or replaced with another image or video in a composite with the foreground.

Etymology

Origin of green screen

First recorded in 1980–85

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.

Zheng recorded himself in front of a green screen and then asked the software to modify his face to make him into all the different characters in the movie.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

At the moment it's Darshan and his green screen against the world, but Evan says they hope he will join them in the US in the spring if his visa application is approved.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

He hung up a green screen and, after determining that he didn’t yet have the broadcasting chops to rant on command, started writing scripts.

From Slate • Feb. 18, 2025

Rather, it’s a green screen set up in the Los Angeles home of Drew Talbert and his wife, Andrea Kelley.

From New York Times • Nov. 26, 2024

The computer is big and old-school and it hums loudly in the corner with its green screen.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023