film

1 of 2

noun

ˈfilm How to pronounce film (audio)
 Southern also  ˈfi(ə)m
plural films
often attributive
1
a
: a thin skin or membranous covering : pellicle
b
: an abnormal growth on or in the eye
2
: a thin covering or coating
a film of ice
3
a
: an exceedingly thin layer : lamina
b(1)
: a thin flexible transparent sheet (as of plastic) used especially as a wrapping
(2)
: a thin sheet of cellulose acetate or nitrocellulose coated with a radiation-sensitive emulsion for taking photographs
4
a
: movie, motion picture
an award-winning film
film critics
The film will start in ten minutes.
b
: the process, art, or business of making movies
a career in film
She studied film in college.
filmless adjective

film

2 of 2

verb

filmed; filming; films

transitive verb

1
: to cover with or as if with a film
2
: to make a motion picture of or from
film a scene

intransitive verb

1
: to become covered or obscured with or as if with a film
2
: to make a motion picture
filmable adjective

Examples of film in a Sentence

Noun Have you bought any film for the camera? We haven't had the film developed yet. He's interested in making films about war. We'll start the film at 10:00. He studied film in college. the protective film over a shark's eye A film of ice covered the sidewalk. Verb Television news crew members came to film the interview. She filmed the children playing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
And, despite a release that trailed months after most other territories, that total makes China far and away the film’s highest-grossing territory. Patrick Frater, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024 The film’s assistant director, David Halls, secured a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to a misdemeanor count of negligent handling of a gun. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2024 Prosecutors have alleged that Gutierrez brought the live ammunition to the film’s set and loaded it into Baldwin’s gun. Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2024 With the next presidential election looming and the film’s real-life subject still neck and neck with Joe Biden in the polls, this examination of corruption and deceit couldn’t feel more timely. Radhika Seth, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2024 That’s a reference from the film’s samurai sword producer. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024 Baldwin had been practicing for a scene and was drawing and pointing a revolver with guidance from Hutchins and Joel Souza, the film’s director, according to a 2023 probable cause statement. Christina Maxouris, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024 The Apprentice will have some notable competition in the film festival. Chris Morris, Fortune, 15 Apr. 2024 Drew Angerer / Getty Images Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is the adult film star whom Cohen paid in October 2016. Graham Kates, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2024
Verb
It was filmed in Seattle in 1991, as the city’s scruffy rock bands drifted, improbably, toward global superfame. Sam Anderson, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024 At the time, almost every comedy on air was filmed live in front of a studio audience—or at least pretended to be. Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2024 The two married in August 2018 at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in D.C. in an extravagant wedding that was filmed for the show. Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 15 Apr. 2024 But also, this is the must public public display of affection possible, and everyone's filming everything at Coachella anyway. Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 15 Apr. 2024 The concert special was filmed during Joel's record-breaking 100th consecutive performance at Madison Square Garden on March 28. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2024 He and the other actors were filmed for animators, who then would create cartoon characters out of them in a process called Rotoscoping, similar to motion capture today. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Apr. 2024 The original concerts, featuring Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, took place over two consecutive nights in November 1981, and were arranged specifically to be filmed for a full-length concert film to document their live show. Carolyn Giardina, Variety, 14 Apr. 2024 Video filmed by a CNN stringer shows the once-perilous coastal road of Al Rasheed filled with families walking with their belongings, some riding bicycles, donkey carts and pick-up trucks, smiling and snapping photographs. Mohammad Al-Sawalhi, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'film.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English filme, from Old English filmen; akin to Greek pelma sole of the foot, Old English fell skin — more at fell

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1604, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of film was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near film

Cite this Entry

“Film.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/film. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

film

1 of 2 noun
1
: a thin skin or membrane
2
: a thin coating or layer
3
: a roll or strip of thin flexible transparent material coated with a chemical substance sensitive to light and used in taking pictures
4

film

2 of 2 verb
1
: to cover or become covered with film
2
: to make a motion picture of or from

Medical Definition

film

noun
1
a
: a thin skin or membranous covering : pellicle
b
: an abnormal growth on or in the eye
2
a
: an exceedingly thin layer : lamina
b
: a thin flexible transparent sheet of cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate coated with a radiation-sensitive emulsion for taking photographs or making radiographs

More from Merriam-Webster on film

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