scene

American  

[seen] / sin /

noun

• scenes
  plural

1. the place where some action or event occurs.

   He returned to the scene of the accident.

   Synonyms:

   focus, center, location, stage, arena

2. any view or picture.

   The scene that lay before me, with its snow and colorful leaves, was beautiful.

3. an incident or situation in real life.

   She witnessed the scene at the restaurant as it happened.

   Synonyms:

   episode

4. an embarrassing outbreak or display of anger, strong feeling, or bad manners.

   Please don't make a scene in such a public place.

   Synonyms:

   show, spectacle, demonstration

5. a division of a play or of an act of a play, usually representing a passage of time in a single setting, featuring a specific character or group of characters.

   Scene Four takes place in a city park at dawn.

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

   The DVD contains many short scenes showing classic plane models at U.S. and European airports.

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

8. scenery.

9. Literature.

   1. an episode, situation, or the like, as in a narrative.

   2. the setting or locale of a story.

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

11. an area or sphere of activity, current interest, etc..

    the rock music scene;

    the fashion scene.

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idioms

1. make the scene, 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.

2. behind the scenes. see behind the scenes.

scene British  

/ siːn /

noun

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

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

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

4. 1. a subdivision of an act of a play, in which the time is continuous and the setting fixed

   2. a single event, esp a significant one, in a play

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

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

7. the prospect of a place, landscape, etc

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

9. informal the environment for a specific activity

   the fashion scene

10. informal interest or chosen occupation

    classical music is not my scene

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

12. out of public view; privately

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scene More Idioms  

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

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Synonym Usage

See view.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interscene
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• scenes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of scene

First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin scēna “background” (of the stage), from Greek skēnḗ “booth” (where actors dressed)

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Explanation

A scene is where something happens or happened. How did you know that the thief would return to the scene of the crime? Scene can also describe part of a movie or a play. Did the last scene make you laugh, cry, or fall asleep? There are lots of common phrases that use the word scene. If you “make a scene,” you draw attention to yourself with some kind of outburst. If something happens “behind the scenes,” the public doesn't know about it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scene scenes

Seyfried first appears as herself, watching footage that Fielder already captured, including a scene in which he shows Holmes the series.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Mallat, who has recently published a book on maths and AI, makes a distinction between what is happening and the mechanisation of agriculture when tractors came on the scene.

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Crews from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Ambulance Service attended the scene, and the road remains closed with diversions in place.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Officers remained at the scene to de-escalate the situation and direct a crowd of onlookers away from the area, police said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

This strange yet tender scene was interrupted by a late arrival to the CAKE.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Latto said much of the newly-found content was scenes which had been removed to meet time restrictions, but were still of good quality.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

So Seyfried starts to help Fielder re-enact scenes that cameras were not present for, reprising her role as Holmes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

But it would describe specific work that Navatek was already planning to do behind the scenes, making it the only logical choice for the eventual government contract.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

Party scenes are a yardstick by which I measure the authenticity of a teenage movie — are these characters acting their age, or have they been designed to?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026

All the memories, funny moments, and unforgettable scenes living inside me, things I’ve been thinking about and writing about in my notebook, are parts of me that they know nothing about.

From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan

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Related Words

• arena
• display
• landscape
• location
• picture
• place
• scenery
• set
• setting
• show
• sight
• site
• spectacle
• spot
• stage
• theater
• view

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