scene

[seen]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scene ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the place where some action or event occurs: He returned to the scene of the murder.

any view or picture.

an incident or situation in real life.

an embarrassing outbreak or display of anger, strong feeling, or bad manners: Please don't make a scene in such a public place.

a division of a play or of an act of a play, usually representing what passes between certain of the actors in one place.

a unit of action or a segment of a story in a play, motion picture, or television show.

the place in which the action of a play or part of a play is supposed to occur.

scenery(def 2).

Literature.

an episode, situation, or the like, as in a narrative.
the setting or locale of a story.

the stage, especially of an ancient Greek or Roman theater.

an area or sphere of activity, current interest, etc.: the rock music scene; the fashion scene.

Idioms

behind the scenes, in secret or in private.

make the scene, Slang. to appear in a particular place or engage in a particular activity: Let's make the scene downtown tonight. She was never one to make the drug scene.

Origin of scene

1530–40; < Latin scēna background (of the stage) < Greek skēnḗ booth (where actors dressed)

Related formsin·ter·scene, noun

Can be confusedscene seen

Synonyms for scene

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scene ON THESAURUS.COM

1. arena, stage, location; center, focus. 2. See view. 3. episode. 4. demonstration, spectacle, show.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for scene

scenery, picture, set, theater, show, spot, site, arena, setting, place, location, sight, spectacle, view, display, landscape, stage, episode, act, incident

Examples from the Web for scene

Contemporary Examples of scene

Hovering above the scene, commandos in helicopters were poised with automatic rifles.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers
Nico Hines
January 9, 2015
The scene was heavily cordoned off to traffic and anyone not with the police, press, or residents.
Police Hunt for Paris Massacre Suspects
Tracy McNicoll, Christopher Dickey
January 7, 2015
The following page details a tribute gag the Simpsons team inserted into the background of a scene.
Here’s the Lost Judd Apatow ‘Simpsons’ Episode, Penned by Judd Apatow
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 6, 2015
“The play contains one five minute scene about James Hewitt,” Conway says.
Harry’s Daddy, and Diana’s ‘Murder’: Royal Rumors In a New Play
Tom Sykes
January 4, 2015
Suddenly, without warning, the whole feeling of the scene changes.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile
Robert Ward
January 3, 2015

Historical Examples of scene

She returned at last to her little home, to find it a scene of desolation.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
By this time several persons had hurried to the scene of the encounter.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
There is a grandeur in the ruin to be enjoyed, as well as a scene of beauty from its towers.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
A commercial minister had appeared on the scene, and the shade of Hoskisson had revived.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
"I wonder who will be first on the scene," speculated Grace.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower

British Dictionary definitions for scene

scene

noun

the place where an action or event, real or imaginary, occurs

the setting for the action of a play, novel, etc

an incident or situation, real or imaginary, esp as described or represented

a subdivision of an act of a play, in which the time is continuous and the setting fixed
a single event, esp a significant one, in a play

films a shot or series of shots that constitutes a unit of the action

the backcloths, stage setting, etc, for a play or film set; scenery

the prospect of a place, landscape, etc

a display of emotion, esp an embarrassing one to the onlookers

informal the environment for a specific activitythe fashion scene

informal interest or chosen occupationclassical music is not my scene

rare the stage, esp of a theatre in ancient Greece or Rome

behind the scenes out of public view; privately

Word Origin for scene

C16: from Latin scēna theatrical stage, from Greek skēnē tent, stage

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

Word Origin and History for scene

1530s, "subdivision of an act of a play," also "stage-setting," from Middle French scène (14c.), from Latin scaena, scena "scene, stage of a theater," from Greek skene "wooden stage for actors," also "that which is represented on stage," originally "tent or booth," related to skia "shadow, shade," via notion of "something that gives shade," from PIE root *skai- "to shine, flicker, glimmer" (see shine (v.)).

Meaning "material apparatus of a theatrical stage" is from 1540s. Meaning "place in which the action of a literary work occurs" is attested from 1590s; general (non-literary) sense of "place where anything is done or takes place" is recorded from 1590s. Hence U.S. slang sense of "setting or milieu for a specific group or activity," attested from 1951 in Beat jargon. Meaning "stormy encounter between two or more persons" is attested from 1761. Behind the scenes "having knowledge of affairs not apparent to the public" (1660s) is an image from the theater, "amid actors and stage machinery" (out of sight of the audience). Scene of the crime (1923) first attested in Agatha Christie.

Idioms and Phrases with scene

scene

see behind the scenes; make a scene; make the scene; on the scene; set the scene for.