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 odd thing about all this is that the Avatar series, which almost single-handledly established the market for 3-D cinema, keeps rolling along. —Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 20 Dec. 2025

There are few film series as celebrated in cinema as The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola's decades-spanning crime saga inspired by Mario Puzo's 1969 novel of the same name. —Alex Heigl, PEOPLE, 20 Dec. 2025

In a panel on cinema and resistance organized as part of the industry program of the Les Arcs Film Festival, Saleh revealed that the displeasure of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s government over his work had had an impact beyond Egypt’s borders. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 Dec. 2025

Reiner's role as a launcher of careers – and an architect of great American cinema – was indisputable. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 19 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