cinema

[ sin-uh-muh ]
See synonyms for cinema on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. movies collectively, as an art: During the Great Depression, cinema provided psychological comfort, an escape from the harsh realities of daily life.

  2. Also Older Spelling, kin·e·ma [kin-uh-muh] /ˈkɪn ə mə/ .Chiefly British. movie theater: Do you know if there is a cinema near the British Museum?

Origin of cinema

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; short for cinematograph

Other words from cinema

  • cin·e·mat·ic [sin-uh-mat-ik], /ˌsɪn əˈmæt ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cinema in a sentence

  • And not for the Franais only, or for the Opra Comique, and concerts, and kinemas.

    To Tell You the Truth | Leonard Merrick

British Dictionary definitions for cinema

cinema

/ (ˈsɪnɪmə) /


noun
  1. mainly British

    • a place designed for the exhibition of films

    • (as modifier): a cinema seat

  2. the cinema

    • the art or business of making films

    • films collectively

Origin of cinema

1
C19 (earlier spelling kinema): shortened from cinematograph

Derived forms of cinema

  • cinematic (ˌsɪnɪˈmætɪk), adjective
  • cinematically, adverb

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