projector

American  

[pruh-jek-ter] / prəˈdʒɛk tər /

noun

• projectors
  plural

1. an apparatus for throwing an image on a screen, as a motion-picture projector or magic lantern.

2. a device for projecting a beam of light.

3. a person who forms projects or plans.

4. Archaic. a person who devises underhanded or unsound plans; schemer.

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projector British  

/ prəˈdʒɛktə /

noun

1. Full name: slide projector. an optical instrument that projects an enlarged image of individual slides onto a screen or wall

2. Full name: film projector, cine projector. an optical instrument in which a strip of film is wound past a lens at a fixed speed so that the frames can be viewed as a continuously moving sequence on a screen or wall

3. a device for projecting a light beam

4. a person who devises projects

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• projectors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of projector

First recorded in 1590–1600; project + -or ²

Explanation

A projector is a machine you use for showing movies or images on a screen. In the days before digital cameras, tourists would frequently take pictures with slide film that they could show their friends later with a projector. Today, most theaters use digital equipment to show movies, although a few are still filmed on actual film and require an old-fashioned projector. While these days a teacher might use a large television and a laptop to show the class an educational film, they would once have had to use a projector and a film strip. Projector comes from the verb project, "cast an image," from Latin roots pro-, "forward," and iacere, "to throw."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

projector projectors

Launched in the U.S. in 1896, with the New York premiere of Thomas Edison’s Vitascope film projector, silent movies astonished audiences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

The inspiration for the series began with the fact that the Museum’s holdings included an actual VistaVision projector built in the early 1990s for dailies screenings but which hadn’t been used for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Other titles to be shown using the VistaVision projector include John Sturges’ “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” Robert Lewis’ musical “Anything Goes” and Michael Curtiz’s comedy “We’re No Angels.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

It works similarly to the projector but should provide a clearer image.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

They opened again, like the shutter of a slide projector; and in front of Ralph shone private splendor.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Examples include liquid-crystal panels used in projectors and optical chips found in telecommunications systems.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

While there are more than 50 Imax screens in the UK, only three are showing it using 70mm film projectors - the BFI and Science Museum in London, and Printworks in Manchester.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

That said, Cinemark reportedly installed Imax 70mm projectors at three of its theaters ahead of “The Odyssey’s” release, and there are 11 more theaters projecting “The Odyssey” in Imax 70mm than there were for “Oppenheimer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

And we were doing things on 35mm, which meant bringing these massive projectors in, putting them into the back of these trucks.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

Turning, I saw the shimmering image of the rock, thrown up by multiple projectors mounted to the surrounding mountain.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin