Bollywood

noun

Bol·​ly·​wood ˈbä-lē-ˌwu̇d How to pronounce Bollywood (audio)
: the movie industry in India

Examples of Bollywood in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Broadband has also brought change to Nollywood, Nigeria’s vast film industry, second only to India’s Bollywood in terms of worldwide film output. IEEE Spectrum, 6 Aug. 2025 Whatever Luke’s hangups may be, he’s clearly smitten by the way Aysha conducts herself like some kind of Bollywood princess. Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 July 2025 Some pointed out the irony, given the way women are sexualized and subject to misogynistic portrayals in Bollywood movies. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 16 July 2025 Its music video, featuring cameos from Singh and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, has amassed over 130 million YouTube views and 1.5 billion TikTok views. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 25 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for Bollywood

Word History

Etymology

Bombay (Mumbai), traditional center of the Indian film industry + Hollywood

First Known Use

1969, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Bollywood was in 1969

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Cite this Entry

“Bollywood.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Bollywood. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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