screenplay

[skreen-pley]

noun

1. a motion-picture or television scenario.

2. Older Use.,  a motion picture.

screenplay

/ ˈskriːnˌpleɪ /

noun

1. the script for a film, including instructions for sets and camera work

Word History and Origins

Origin of screenplay¹

First recorded in 1915–20; screen + play

Example Sentences

After that call, it took only six weeks for Shyamalan to complete a first draft of the screenplay, which he sent to Sparks for comment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Dickinson and Gregory became close on set and the actor told him he had an idea for a screenplay.

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Noah Oppenheim’s screenplay often doubles back so we hear the same lines from different perspectives, adding to our understanding and deepening our unease.

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If only Johnson’s complexity were matched anywhere else in the screenplay.

Read more on Salon

Baumbach and Mortimer write the character and his actor as closely together as possible so as to make the honest, emotional swings of their screenplay feel immediately resonant.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• cinema 
• feature 
• film 
• flick 
• motion picture 
• picture 
• show 
• videotape