cinema

American  

[sin-uh-muh] / ˈsɪn ə mə /

noun

• cinemas
  plural

1. movies collectively, as an art.

   During the Great Depression, cinema provided psychological comfort, an escape from the harsh realities of daily life.

2. Chiefly British. Also kinema movie theater.

   Do you know if there is a cinema near the British Museum?

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cinema British  

/ ˈsɪnɪmə /

noun

1. 1. a place designed for the exhibition of films

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cinema seat

2. 1. the art or business of making films

   2. films collectively

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cinematic
  adjective
• cinematically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cinemas
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cinema

First recorded in 1895–1900; short for cinematograph

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Explanation

A cinema is another word for a movie theater. If you love films, you probably spend a lot of time at the cinema. It's more common to say cinema in Britain than in the United States, but any English speaker will know what you're talking about if you ask, "Want to go to the cinema?" You can also use cinema to talk about the film industry and its history: "This is my favorite film in all of American cinema." The word was first used in 1899, from the French cinéma, which was a shortened form of cinématographe, "motion picture projector and camera."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cinema cinemas

Tyree, a professor of cinema at Virginia Commonwealth University and the editor in chief of Film Quarterly, "popular movies always are reflecting these social anxieties of the day."

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

Now the Leicester Square cult cinema has secured the new lease with no break clause, offering it security so the "projectors will keep rolling for years to come".

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Skydance-owned Paramount Pictures has taken over the lease for the Bay Theater in Pacific Palisades and intends to reopen the cinema, which has been closed since the January 2025 Palisades fire last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

The Criterion Collection’s mammoth set of the director’s 13 features captures a master of American cinema and his singular stories of men caught up in systems bigger than themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

The biggest tent looks like a carnival cinema, complete with striped patterns and flashing lights.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

The launch is part of celebrations marking Zelda's 40th anniversary, alongside a global concert tour and a live-action film hitting cinemas next spring.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

Many of the theaters, cinemas and concert halls that once pumped life into the capital have shuttered or drastically reduced their offerings.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

The peeling facades, faded signs and cavernous auditoriums of such cinemas are remnants of a time when going to the movies was itself the main event.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

Nine years later, the film - The Lost Children of Tuam - is now in cinemas.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

The women are coming home from the cinemas, laughing, and the men, singing, from the pubs.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

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Related Words

• film
• movie house
• movie theater

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