auteur

noun

au·​teur ō-ˈtu̇r 

-ˈtər

1

: a film director whose practice accords with the auteur theory

broadly : director sense c

2

: an artist (such as a musician or writer) whose style and practice are distinctive

auteurist

ō-ˈtər-ist 

adjective or noun

Examples of auteur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Organizers for the South of France festival, which runs May 12-23, laid out a lineup heavy on big-name international auteurs at a news conference Thursday in Paris. —Jake Coyle, Chicago Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026

Cannes Film Festival will favor the auteurs this year, with Asghar Farhadi, Pedro Almodóvar, Paweł Pawlikowski, Ira Sachs, Hirokazu Kore-eda, László Nemes and Ryusuke Hamaguchi all premiering new films in competition. —Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 9 Apr. 2026

This year’s Cannes will take a focus on international auteurs, with very few films by American directors revealed so far. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026

Across 33 tracks split into two solo albums, two of this century’s coldest, most martyrial rap auteurs—who have bled enough on the page to paint the walls a new color—decide to flex new muscles over a decent batch of ambient plugg beats. —Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 6 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, originator, author, from Old French autor, from Latin auctor — more at author

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing auteur

• auteur theory

Rhymes for auteur

• amour
• grandeur
• hauteur
• velour
• verdure
• voyeur
• doer
• poor
• poore
• raconteur