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
Examples of auteur in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the years since, Waltz has taken on roles in high-profile films, often working with auteurs like Tim Burton, Alexander Payne and Walter Hill.
—
William Earl, Variety, 6 Feb. 2026
Trier seems to have consolidated the Euro vote, and the directing lineup doesn’t feel complete without one Scandinavian auteur.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
Great auteurs and directors don’t fall from a tree.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2026
Economic pressures reshaping Hollywood have made copyright-free material newly attractive to prestige players looking for name recognition of all kinds, with auteurs frequently treating source works as creative and historical scaffolding.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for auteur
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.
William Earl, Variety, 6 Feb. 2026
Trier seems to have consolidated the Euro vote, and the directing lineup doesn’t feel complete without one Scandinavian auteur.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026
Great auteurs and directors don’t fall from a tree.
—Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 5 Jan. 2026
Economic pressures reshaping Hollywood have made copyright-free material newly attractive to prestige players looking for name recognition of all kinds, with auteurs frequently treating source works as creative and historical scaffolding.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for auteur
Cite this Entry
“Auteur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auteur. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
