1
a
: motion picture
—usually used attributively
b
: a motion-picture theater
2
a
: movies
especially
: the film industry
b
: the art or technique of making motion pictures
Synonyms
Examples of cinema in a Sentence
a student of French cinema
We drove by the cinema to see what was playing.
Recent Examples on the Web
On the eve of its arrival in cinemas, the film had notched up 830,000 pre-sales for Wednesday and other subsequent days.
—
Patrick Frater, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
That the entire spectacle (book talks, cinema, music, dance and a 450,000-person international audience) is set against the drama of Rajasthan’s fabled Pink City certainly doesn’t hurt.
—Abbie Kozolchyk, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2024
Before Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977) set the templates for the next half century of Hollywood cinema, Coppola was the singular visionary of what was already recognized as the Second Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2024
In addition to his work in French cinema, the actor, who speaks five languages, garnered strong reviews for his work in the English-language films Jefferson in Paris (1995), Elizabeth (1998), and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999).
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2024
Remy was married to Pup’s father, the owner of the cinema who lost his life to drug addiction.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Screening French cinema six consecutive Thursdays, March 14-April 18.
—The Enquirer, 14 Apr. 2024
In 2014 he was honored with a BAFTA lifetime achievement award for outstanding British contribution to cinema.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
The state of the box office Has the cinema business recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and two overlapping Hollywood strikes?
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Patrick Frater, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024
That the entire spectacle (book talks, cinema, music, dance and a 450,000-person international audience) is set against the drama of Rajasthan’s fabled Pink City certainly doesn’t hurt.
—Abbie Kozolchyk, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2024
Before Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) and George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977) set the templates for the next half century of Hollywood cinema, Coppola was the singular visionary of what was already recognized as the Second Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2024
In addition to his work in French cinema, the actor, who speaks five languages, garnered strong reviews for his work in the English-language films Jefferson in Paris (1995), Elizabeth (1998), and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999).
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2024
Remy was married to Pup’s father, the owner of the cinema who lost his life to drug addiction.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Screening French cinema six consecutive Thursdays, March 14-April 18.
—The Enquirer, 14 Apr. 2024
In 2014 he was honored with a BAFTA lifetime achievement award for outstanding British contribution to cinema.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024
The state of the box office Has the cinema business recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and two overlapping Hollywood strikes?
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cinema.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cinema
Cite this Entry
“Cinema.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cinema. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cinema
noun
cin·e·ma
ˈsin-ə-mə 
1
a
: movie sense 2a
a cinema director
b
: a theater for showing movies
went to the cinema
2
a
: the business of making movies
worked in cinema
b
: the art or technique of making movies
a student of French cinema
cinematic
adjective
ˌsin-ə-ˈmat-ik
cinematically
adverb
-i-k(ə-)lē
Etymology
derived from French cinématographe "motion picture," from Greek kinēma "movement" and graphe "picture," from kinein "to move" — related to kinetic
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