motion picture
Americannoun
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Movies.
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a sequence of consecutive still images photographed in a series by a specially designed camera motion-picture camera and thrown on a screen by a projector motion-picture projector in such rapid succession as to give the illusion of natural movement.
Jean Cocteau produced some of the most innovative motion pictures of the postwar era.
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such a video sequence recorded and played in other media formats, as VHS or digital video.
Critics have given mixed reviews to the new trend of feature-length motion pictures shot on smartphones.
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a story, event, or the like, presented in this form.
The motion picture is adapted from the novel of the same name.
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motion pictures, the art, technique, or business of producing motion pictures.
The Academy honors achievement in motion pictures every year at the Oscars.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of motion picture
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
Shortly after arriving, Davis met someone at a party whose wife worked at the motion picture academy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
But in using what he could, Mr. Doherty notes, “he certainly earned more than a footnote in motion picture history by creating the first U.S.-made, feature-length anti-Nazi film.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
What we’re likely to be left with is an adaptation that hits all of the beats of the hundreds of motion picture takes on the story with all of their charms and idiosyncrasies smoothed away.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that in 2023, there were 2,610 motion picture projectionists employed in the U.S. — an increase from 1,900 in 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Miss Dixon’s window of availability is extremely limited. She’s due to start filming a major motion picture in a couple of weeks.”
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
