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

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 1996 film came on the heels of his five-year SNL run, and just one year after his big-screen breakthrough in Billy Madison. —Skyler Trepel, EW.com, 25 July 2025

Previous big-screen adaptations of the Fantastic Four weren't critical successes; the '05 and '07 movies are mediocre cheese at best and the Josh Trank movie from 2015 is downright reviled. —James Grebey, Time, 25 July 2025

Noun

The concert’s big screen captured two executives from the data company Astronomer in an embrace, and their reactions suggest they weren’t supposed to be seen together. —Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 22 July 2025

Though, admittedly, that big screen is great for framing your shot. —David Phelan, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025

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
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between

Kids Definition

big screen

noun

: the motion-picture medium as contrasted to television