Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • script
    script
    noun
    the letters or characters used in writing by hand; handwriting, especially cursive writing.
  • Script.
    Script.
    abbreviation
    Scriptural.
Synonyms

script

1 American  
[skript] / skrɪpt /

noun

  • scripts
    plural
  1. An image of the word script as defined by the letters or characters used in writing by hand; handwriting, especially cursive writing.

    the letters or characters used in writing by hand; handwriting, especially cursive writing.

  2. a manuscript or document.

  3. the text of a manuscript or document.

  4. the manuscript or one of various copies of the written text of a play, motion picture, or radio or television broadcast.

  5. any system of writing.

  6. Printing. a type imitating handwriting.

  7. Digital Technology. an executable section of code that automates a task.

    You will have to run the script to install the program on your computer.


verb (used with object)

  • scripts,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • scripted,
    past participle,  past
  • scripting
    present participle
  1. to write a script for.

    The movie was scripted by a famous author.

  2. to plan or devise; make arrangements for.

    The week-long festivities were scripted by a team of experts.

  3. Digital Technology. to write an executable section of code for (a program) in order to automate a task.

    You can script a program that will scan your files.

verb (used without object)

  • scripts,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • scripted,
    past participle,  past
  • scripting
    present participle
  1. Digital Technology. to write an executable section of code that automates a task.

    Most programmers script in more than one programming language.

Script. 2 American  

abbreviation

  1. Scriptural.

  2. Scripture.


script British  
/ skrɪpt /

noun

  1. handwriting as distinguished from print, esp cursive writing

  2. the letters, characters, or figures used in writing by hand

  3. any system or style of writing

  4. written copy for the use of performers in films and plays

  5. law

    1. an original or principal document

    2. (esp in England) a will or codicil or the draft for one

  6. any of various typefaces that imitate handwriting

  7. computing a series of instructions that is executed by a computer program

  8. an answer paper in an examination

  9. another word for scrip 3

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to write a script for

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future


Etymology

Origin of script

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English (noun), from Latin scriptum, noun use of neuter past participle of scrībere “to write”; replacing Middle English scrit, from Old French escrit, from Latin, as above; (verb) first recorded in 1930–35; from the noun.


Explanation

A script is a written version of a play or movie. If you're auditioning for a movie, you'll get the script to practice a scene or two. Script comes from the Latin scrībĕre, meaning "to write," and all its meanings have to do with something written. Your handwriting is your script. The written version of what you're supposed to say, whether for a wedding toast or a play, is a script. And if you were feeling old-fashioned you could call the grocery list you just wrote a script. It's also a verb. You can script a play.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing script

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:

She looked down and read nervously from a script, took just three questions and embarrassingly mixed up references to “her husband” and “her president.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

"These are minutes drawn up by notaries who abbreviate their decisions. The script is highly administrative, very pragmatic... with rather technical vocabulary," said historian Julie Claustre, who leads the e-NDP project.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

I wouldn’t presume — based on the script and seeing the first episode — I wouldn’t presume to get inside the head of that character.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Such is the script that a trip to what promises to be a ferocious Anfield - a place Guardiola always described as difficult - is next.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

It was a place the script called Shinbone Alley, in a shabby section of the city.

From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein

The latter has been reprinted in the Script. rer.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1 "Gichtel, Johann" to "Glory" by Various

As such he is also mentioned in Script. rer.

From Teutonic Mythology, Vol. 1 of 3 Gods and Goddesses of the Northland by Ph.D.

Script., published in 1548, during Barclay's life time, adorns him with the epithets "Scotus, rhetor ac poeta insignis."

From The Ship of Fools, Volume 1 by Alexander Barclay

It is included in Pelzel and Dobrowsky, Script. rer.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 4 "Coquelin" to "Costume" by Various

"And then other things that we've thought about writing scripts about and never gotten around. So we don't know yet."

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

My most treasured possession belonging to Dad are his movie scripts, leather-bound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

He understands how to use his innate magnetism to charm his way through even the silliest scripts, occasionally creating a dissonance between the film and his performances that makes even the duds memorable.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026

"You get a lot of scripts through the post, and you feel like you've seen a bit before. And this, I really hadn't seen this before, so I was excited," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

For the early shows, they hammered out the scripts together.

From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow

To be clear, I am not suggesting that Paxton personally scripted the Ohio hoax.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

Monologues from stand-up comics who’ve hosted, such as Dave Chappelle, Nikki Glaser and John Mulaney, are typically the one nonmusical part of the show that aren’t heavily scripted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

It is a vulnerable and human response - and nothing like the scripted PR apology you might expect.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The younger Kazan, who developed this project and scripted most of it, has addressed that problem by tackling the entire text, in ways her grandfather couldn’t possibly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

The second round was all scripted, and if they didn’t get what they liked, they would just run it again.”

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

By intentionally scripting ways to tighten these familial bonds from an early age—and recognizing the dynamics that can challenge them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

Wordless storytelling, an homage to silent films, is a cinematic scripting choice that demands a deeper level of acting ability we might otherwise overlook in a movie like this.

From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026

Woolworths said that it had revised its scripting in light of the complaints, adding that most of the feedback on Olive's "personality" had been "very positive".

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

"As a result of customer feedback, we recently removed this particular scripting."

From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026

Can I use Javascript or other scripting languages in my HTML?

From The Project Gutenberg FAQ 2002 by Jim Tinsley

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word


Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember new words for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com