cinema

noun

cin·​e·​ma ˈsi-nə-mə 

British also -ˌmä

1

: movie sense 1

—often used before another noun

cinema enthusiasts

2

: a movie theater

go to the cinema

3

: the art, technique, or business of making movies : the motion-picture medium or industry

Synonyms of cinema

• film
• filmmaking
• movie

Examples of cinema in a Sentence

a student of French cinema

We drove by the cinema to see what was playing.

Recent Examples on the Web

Perhaps an early progenitor of slow cinema, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly remains one of the finest examples of the Western genre and one of Eastwood’s very best performances. —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026

Already, 2026 has started strong — and cinema operators believe this year’s slate has the goods (for real this time) to get the business back on track. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026

The novel setup invited any number of issues that might have ruined the whole thing, but the experience was somehow redeemed and made special by its foundational reverence for the holy light of cinema. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026

The rec center helps, too, loaded with duckpin bowling, a small cinema, and games so there’s always something to fall back on. —Jordi Lippe-McGraw, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for cinematograph

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cinema

• cinema verité
• go to the cinema

Rhymes for cinema

• minima

Kids Definition

cinema

noun

cin·​e·​ma ˈsin-ə-mə 

1

a

: movie sense 2a

a cinema director

b

: a theater for showing movies

went to the cinema

2

a

: the business of making movies

worked in cinema

b

: the art or technique of making movies

a student of French cinema

cinematic

ˌsin-ə-ˈmat-ik

adjective

cinematically

-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb

Etymology

derived from French cinématographe "motion picture," from Greek kinēma "movement" and graphe "picture," from kinein "to move" — related to kinetic