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

Films are made as a team, but for me genre cinema goes beyond that — it’s made as a family. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 24 July 2026

The list is eclectic, with films (and excerpts of films) ranging from documentaries on the history of cinema to avant-garde works by artists including Man Ray, László Moholy-Nagy, Stan Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, Mary Ellen Bute, and Jordan Belson. — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 24 July 2026

An openly gay man in Catholic Italy as well as an old-school romantic, Visconti was cinema’s great poet of impossible loves. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 July 2026

While home-theater purists will likely still opt for external AV receivers and soundbars, the PX4 Pro is tailored to operate smoothly as a completely standalone cinema center. — New Atlas, 24 July 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