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

Stanton, by far the most science-fiction-oriented of Pixar auteurs, has a habit of merging high-tech futurism and grand-scale optimism. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 19 June 2026

Forget about watching movies at the Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, Il Cinema in Piazza is an outdoor film festival (free by the way, there’s no charge for tickets) which runs during the summer in Rome, Italy, a mixture of films and retrospectives chosen by auteurs. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 18 June 2026

But the movies these auteurs deliver defy categorization and that presents its own challenges. —Brent Lang, Variety, 18 June 2026

Regarded as an auteur and a leading figure in slow cinema, Weerasethakul has worked outside the confines of commercial Thai cinema on films that explore subjects like memory, dreams, sexuality, political violence, and folklore. —News Desk, Artforum, 15 June 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

• blotter
• cotter
• daughter
• hotter
• mater
• otter
• plotter
• rotter
• slaughter
• spotter
• squatter
• totter