big-screen

1 of 2

adjective

ˈbig-ˌskrēn 

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

Synonyms of big-screen

Noun

• film
• movie
• filmmaking
• silver screen
• pictures

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

Adjective

The big-screen adaptation of the popular Disney+ show doesn't feature another familiar component of the Star Wars universe — the iconic opening crawl. —Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 2026

Hopes were arguably high for The Mandalorian and Grogu, director Jon Favreau’s big-screen offshoot of the popular Disney+ series The Mandalorian. —ArsTechnica, 22 May 2026

Noun

In one of the more audacious big screen headlining roles, Michael Fassbender, Oscar winner Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell play antagonistic aliens in South Korean director Na Hong-Jin’s sci-fi monster movie, Hope. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 18 May 2026

Sports bars like Real Sports with its 39-foot HD big screen will be packed. —ABC News, 14 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1914, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for big-screen

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between
• bromine

Kids Definition

big screen

noun

: the motion-picture medium as contrasted to television