cutscene

noun

cut·​scene ˈkət-ˌsēn 

variants or less commonly cut-scene or cut scene

plural cutscenes also cut-scenes or cut scenes

: a noninteractive video sequence that occurs between segments of a video game and depicts part of the game's background or storyline

Extra bits of story are delivered every two or three levels, each cutscene lasting just a few seconds and providing a further, fleeting glance at the bizarre roster of characters.

—Joe Martin

Excellent cinematic cutscenes are dotted throughout the game, with rebel communications and face-to-face talks giving you hints on your progress.

—Matthew Horan

Ninja Gaiden is also notable for being one of the first action games to have cutscenes between levels.

—Chris Reed

You won't encounter an explicitly relayed narrative—there are no cut-scenes or dialog text; instead, the story is uncovered through the game's lo-fi and maquette-like environments, each filled with sad, funny, and poignant details.

—Lewis Gordon

Examples of cutscene in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Further down the line, compression technology enabled us to have cutscenes in games. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 19 June 2025

Which each subsequent entry in the modern trilogy, the story and cutscenes begin to take up more space. —Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 15 May 2025

Blue Prince lacks jump scares or creepy noises or a spooky presence tracing your steps, but a handful of cutscenes that occur in some rooms conjure a sense of dread. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2025

Users in franchise mode don’t mind watching a cutscene or looking at highlights from other games. —Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1992, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cutscene

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between