Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for photoplay. Search instead for photoplays.
Synonyms

photoplay

American  
[foh-tuh-play] / ˈfoʊ təˌpleɪ /

noun

  1. a motion-picture scenario; screenplay.


Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of photoplay

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; photo- + play


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:

Cecil B. DeMille’s first royalty check for the printed photoplay edition of “The Ten Commandments.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2026

Then called the U-Neptune, it was described as “Seattle’s newest photoplay palace and the finest suburban motion picture theater in this part of the country.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 11, 2021

The New York Dramatic Mirror said: “We cannot remember ever having seen a photoplay just exactly like it.”

From The Guardian ● Nov. 2, 2015

Hope for the cinema lies in a photoplay like this adaptation of John Galsworthy's story, The First and the Last.

From Time Magazine Archive

This statement is equally true of both fiction and photoplay writing.

From Writing the Photoplay by J. Berg (Joseph Berg) Esenwein

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training