movie
Americannoun
-
a sequence of consecutive still images recorded in a series to be viewed on a screen in such rapid succession as to give the illusion of natural movement; motion picture.
-
a story, event, or the like, presented in this form.
-
movies,
-
Usually the movies the movie industry.
The movies use MPA ratings to inform patrons about content that may not be suitable for certain audiences.
-
all movies as a group, or a specific category of movies, considered as a genre.
gangster movies.
-
the exhibition of movies.
an evening at the movies.
-
Often the movies a movie theater.
Is there anything good playing at the movies on Main Street?
-
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of movie
First recorded in 1905–10; mov(ing picture) + -ie
Explanation
A movie is a film that you watch at a theater or at home on your TV, laptop, or tablet. Movie is short for "moving picture," which was pretty exciting in the late 1800s. You can rave about your favorite movie — whether it's "Citizen Kane" or "The Lion King" — and you can also talk about "the movies," or films in general and the industry that makes them. You might dream of working in the movies, for example. Before about 1912, movies were called "motion pictures." Movie is a shortened form of the phrase, which some people abbreviate into the more old-fashioned sounding "pictures."
Vocabulary lists containing movie
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.
See Examples For:
His first movie for Universal, 2023’s “Oppenheimer,” became available to watch at home 120 days after it came out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Each story also emerged before decades of wealth expansion, with the movie version of “Mildred Pierce” coming out in 1945, right before the post-war boom.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
This is the movie inside the final red envelope.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
For generations of movie audiences, however, Fricker will most likely be remembered as the Pigeon Lady from “Home Alone 2.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Yeah. I’ve got this program that animates drawings. Every year I put together a movie of one year in the Delgado family. I thought it would be fun to include an animated clip of Tadeo.”
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
Of course, we also go for stories that are larger than life, that traverse beyond this realm into a place that only movies can go.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Plan your weekend viewing: Heading to the movies and wondering what to see?
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
For a documentarian who specializes in personal movies, “Remake” feels especially revealing — both in terms of the glimpses we get of this father-son relationship and of unsolved mysteries that linger just outside the frame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
“They’re slowly leaning in to actually making movies for an audience that maybe traditionally wouldn’t have gone and seen a big blockbuster ‘Avengers’ thing,” Jahn said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
It must’ve been the shortest take in the history of movies.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
