big-screen

1 of 2

adjective

Synonyms of big-screennext
1
: relating to movies or to the movie industry
She worked on the novel's big-screen adaptation.
Big-screen villains that resemble America's real-world enemies are as old as the movies themselves.Vanity Fair
2
: having a large screen
a big-screen television
And in my experience testing big-screen phones …, it really is far more difficult to do anything on them one-handed, including typing.John Gruber

big screen

2 of 2

noun

: the movie medium often as contrasted to television
a story adapted for the big screen

Examples of big-screen in a Sentence

Noun many actors now take roles for both television and the big screen
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.
Adjective
In the 50-plus years between the end of WWII and Spielberg's intimate drama painted on the widest of big-screen canvases, no one has captured D-Day with the same harrowing, relentless intensity. Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026 Tiddes is responsible for bringing big-screen comedies back with Scary Movie this summer; the pic opened to a franchise high $105M worldwide last weekend. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 June 2026
Noun
There were scenes of euphoria across the country, centred around Tashkent, where people gathered to watch the match on a big screen. Tim Spiers, New York Times, 10 June 2026 The husband-and-wife team have built their business and reputation around helping talent bring their creative ideas to life on the small and big screen, with past collaborators including Anthony Anderson, Niecy Nash, Keke Palmer and Tabitha Brown to name but a few. Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for big-screen

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of big-screen was in 1914

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Big-screen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big-screen. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

big screen

noun
: the motion-picture medium as contrasted to television
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