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motion picture

American  
[moh-shuhn pik-cher] / ˈmoʊ ʃən ˈpɪk tʃər /

noun

  1. Movies.

    1. 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.

    2. 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.

  2. a story, event, or the like, presented in this form.

    The motion picture is adapted from the novel of the same name.

  3. motion pictures, the art, technique, or business of producing motion pictures.

    The Academy honors achievement in motion pictures every year at the Oscars.
motion picture British  

noun

  1. Also called: film. 

    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

"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

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.

Motion picture — animated “Arco” “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” “Elio” “KPop Demon Hunters” “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” “Zootopia 2”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2026

Motion picture costumers launched a diversity committee to help support members of color.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2022

Motion picture can speak a lot of words, right?

From Salon • Aug. 29, 2020

Motion picture lore teems with legends of stars who failed to achieve the superstardom predicted for them.

From The Guardian • Mar. 31, 2011

Motion picture     scenario, by H. C. Witwer.     © 2Aug23, A754767.

From U.S. Copyright Renewals, 1951 July - December by Library of Congress. Copyright Office

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.