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

The melodrama about a girl cloistered in her home by a controlling brother, played in the inaugural edition of the Red Sea Film Festival in 2021 as one of the first productions to come out of Saudi Arabia in the wake of the lifting of the cinema ban. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 7 Dec. 2025

Hindi cinema once reflected secular, democratic values championed by India’s founding fathers. —Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Dec. 2025

It is expected to stream on Netflix after its cinema run, like the previous film. —Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2025

But alongside being presented with an award from the festival for her contributions to cinema, the French screen icon also received an unexpected tribute from jury head Sean Baker. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 6 Dec. 2025

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