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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

• motion-picture
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of motion picture

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

The company says it seeks to identify promising employees for promotion, encourages career planning alongside performance reviews and pores over internal data to spot potential matches for open positions, even among employees who haven’t applied.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Related Words

• cinema
• feature film
• flick
• talkie